Texas House Bill 8 Brings Big Changes to Student Testing — What It Means for East Texas Schools

Photo By Rita Shipp

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas classrooms are on the verge of a major shift in how student learning is measured. With House Bill 8 now in effect, the days of the high-stakes STAAR exam are numbered. Lawmakers have promised a new system that puts less weight on a single test, but educators in East Texas are watching closely to see if the new plan will ease or add to the pressure already felt in schools.

What’s Changing

• STAAR Out, “Through-Year” Testing In

  Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, the STAAR test will be replaced with a new system that measures students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Lawmakers say this will give parents and teachers quicker feedback and more opportunities to adjust instruction before the school year ends.

• Limits on Redundant Testing

  HB 8 restricts districts from piling on multiple benchmark exams in grades 3–8. The goal is to reduce duplicate tests and give students back valuable classroom time.

• Faster Results

  Instead of waiting weeks or months for scores, teachers and parents are expected to get results within days — a change aimed at making testing data more useful for instruction.

• More Power for the Texas Education Agency (TEA)

  The bill also hands more authority to the state commissioner of education, who will have greater control over how accountability ratings are calculated and reported.

Why It Matters Here

For East Texas districts — many of them rural and resource-tight — the changes could be a double-edged sword.

Teachers may welcome faster results but worry about more frequent testing taking away from instruction.

Students could face shorter but more frequent assessments, which some say spreads out the pressure but others fear just creates new stress points.

Parents will have more opportunities to track their child’s progress, but questions remain about whether the new system will still feel “high stakes.”

One local superintendent told ETB that while the reforms “look good on paper,” the true test will be in how the state supports districts with funding, training, and technology.

What’s Still Missing

Critics argue HB 8 doesn’t go far enough. Important measures like extracurricular participation, workforce readiness, and student engagement will be collected but won’t count toward a district’s A-F rating. Meanwhile, with more authority concentrated at TEA, some worry about “moving the goalposts” when it comes to accountability.

Looking Ahead

For now, students will keep taking the STAAR while districts prepare for the transition. By the time the Class of 2030 is in middle school, they’ll be facing a very different testing landscape — one that lawmakers say will be more supportive, but one educators say they’ll believe when they see it.

As this rollout continues, the East Texas Banner will be speaking with local teachers, parents, and administrators to hear firsthand how HB 8 is reshaping classrooms in Newton, Jasper, and Tyler counties — and what it means for East Texas students.