Testing Windows

For the 2024–2025 school year, STAAR administrations will be offered during the following two-week testing windows:

• December 3–13: STAAR EOC assessments

• April 8–18: STAAR RLA assessments

• April 15–25: STAAR science and social studies assessments

• April 22–May 2: STAAR mathematics assessments

• June 17–27: STAAR EOC assessments

The primary testing week for STAAR administrations is week 1 of each two-week testing window. However, with the exception of Monday of week 1, a district or campus may schedule STAAR mathematics, RLA, science, and social studies assessments on any school day during the assigned testing windows. A district or campus may administer a STAAR assessment on Monday of week 1 if administering the assessment on another instructional day would result in a significant administrative burden due to specific local conditions. To administer a STAAR assessment on Monday of week 1, district or campus testing personnel must notify the TEA Student Assessment Division by completing a Monday Testing Notice. Districts may administer assessments on Monday of week 2 without submitting a notice to TEA.

A district or campus may schedule the administration of a specific assessment on different days or on multiple days within the assigned two-week testing window. For example, a campus may offer the Algebra I assessment on Tuesday and Thursday of week 1. If a district or campus administers a specific assessment on different days or over multiple days, district and campus testing personnel must maintain the security of the assessment to ensure that the test content remains valid throughout the testing window.

TEA highly recommends that district personnel plan to test during the first week and a half of the testing window to ensure that all students have an opportunity to test in case of absences or technical, weather, or emergency issues. District personnel should reserve the last two to three days of each testing window to submit data in DEI and to enter score codes, non-embedded supports, and medical exclusions in TIDE. For EOC assessments, TAKS/TAAS/TEAMS and high school equivalency program information must also be entered in TIDE. District personnel must verify that student demographic information and additional student information fields in TIDE are complete and accurate. In addition, district personnel must verify that all students have been accounted for by 11:59 p.m. (CT) on the last day of each two-week testing window based on online assessment submissions and DEI submissions.

Due to previous changes made to the 2024–2025 Student Assessment Testing Calendar, TEA is providing the following allowance for districts that have University Interscholastic League (UIL) activities already scheduled during week 1, the primary week of testing. Districts should:

• administer make-up tests to individual students who participate in the UIL activity, or

• administer the assessment during week 2 if more than half the students are involved in the UIL activity.

Testing Time

District testing personnel should schedule STAAR test sessions for three to four hours, as students are expected to complete assessments in about three hours. ​District personnel should begin testing within one hour of the start of the school day. TEA does not recommend starting a test session after lunch for students who are late, as they may not have sufficient time to complete the assessment before the end of the school day.

Students must complete the assessment within the same school day unless the student has been approved for an extra day or becomes sick during testing. Any student who needs additional time may continue testing until the end of the regularly scheduled school day. It is not necessary to track the time for lunch or breaks, but students may not spend more than seven hours working on the assessment.

Consolidation of Testers

Students who are not testing or who have completed testing should be participating in a regular or alternate class schedule in which enrichment activities (e.g., instruction beyond the required TEKS) are being shared. Students who are still testing after about four hours should be consolidated to continue testing.

• District testing coordinators must ensure that each campus administering STAAR has a plan in place to consolidate students who are still testing after a certain point.

• Campus plans may vary based on the total number of students testing, the subject being tested, the availability of staff and space, the class schedule used on testing days, etc.

• Test administrators must inform students that, at some point, students who are still testing will be grouped together and students who have completed testing will join a regular or alternate class schedule.

• Using proctored test sessions allows a campus administrator to determine when enough students have completed testing and consolidation of students who are still testing should occur.

Potential Scenarios

Below are some potential testing scenarios district testing personnel may use when developing their local consolidation plans. 

Scenario 1:

For a campus with an early lunch schedule, consolidation of testers could occur during the lunch period. Students who are still testing will need to be grouped together and monitored during lunch. The students can then be divided out based on numbers across classrooms and educators to continue testing after lunch. 

Scenario 2:

A campus with 90 students testing in three classrooms with 30 students per room and three test administrators may consolidate students when about one-third or 30 of the students have completed testing.

• Additional campus personnel (e.g., campus administrators, aides, monitors) should gather the 30 students who have completed testing in the gym, library, or cafeteria.

• The 60 students still testing can then be consolidated into approximately two classrooms with two test administrators.

• This permits the 30 students who have completed testing to move to the now empty classroom with the one educator who is no longer administering a test.

Scenario 3:

A campus with 450 students testing in 15 classrooms with 30 students per room and 15 test administrators may consolidate students when about one-half or 225 of the students have completed testing.

• Additional campus personnel (e.g., campus administrators, aides, monitors) should gather the 225 students who have completed testing in the gym, library, or cafeteria.

• The 225 students still testing can then be consolidated into approximately eight classrooms with eight test administrators.

• This permits the 225 students who have completed testing to move to the now empty seven classrooms with the seven educators who are no longer administering tests.

• This process could be repeated after approximately half or 112 of the remaining students have completed testing.

Scenario 4:

A campus with 900 students testing in 30 classrooms with 30 students per room and 30 test administrators may consolidate students when about one-third or 300 of the students have completed testing.

• Additional campus personnel (e.g., campus administrators, aides, monitors) should gather the 300 students who have completed testing in the gym, library, or cafeteria.

• The 600 students still testing can then be consolidated into approximately 20 classrooms with 20 test administrators.

• This permits the 300 students who have completed testing to move to the now empty 10 classrooms with the 10 educators who are no longer administering tests.

• This process could be repeated after another third or 300 of the students have completed testing.

Scenario 5:

A campus with 1,200 students testing in 40 rooms with 30 students per room and 40 test administrators may consolidate students when about one-quarter or 300 of the students have completed testing.

• Additional campus personnel (e.g., campus administrators, aides, monitors) should gather the 300 students who have completed testing in the gym, library, or cafeteria.

• The 900 students still testing can then be consolidated into approximately 30 classrooms with 30 test administrators.

• This permits the 300 students who have completed testing to move to the now empty 10 classrooms with the 10 educators who are no longer administering tests.

• This process could be repeated after another fourth or 300 of the students have completed testing, then repeated again after another fourth.​

Late-Arriving Students

District testing personnel must determine if a late-arriving student will have sufficient time to test during that school day or if the student should test on another day within the testing window, keeping in mind the following requirements:

• Each student must be allowed sufficient time to take the assessment.

• The test directions must be read to late-arriving students.

Make-up Testing

District testing personnel should offer make-up opportunities for all STAAR assessments to students who are absent on the scheduled assessment day.

For students who are absent to observe a religious holy day or period of observance, district testing personnel must offer a make-up testing opportunity. Religious holy days and periods of observance are defined as days observed by a religion whose places of worship would be exempt from property taxation under Texas Tax Code §11.20. Districts are required to provide alternate test dates within the testing window to administer a STAAR assessment to a student who is absent from school to observe a holy day or period of observance for no more than two days based on the occurrence of a single religious holy day or period of observance.

District testing personnel must maintain the security of the assessments during make-up testing to ensure that the test content remains valid throughout the testing window.

Students Who Become Sick During an Assessment

A student who becomes sick and leaves campus during the assessment may complete the assessment, as needed, on a different day within the scheduled testing window. The Test Delivery System (TDS) will lock student responses eight hours after an online assessment has been paused. Students who continue testing on another day will be able to view all questions but will not be able to edit responses marked or constructed responses begun on a previous day as these questions will NOT be unlocked.