Updates for the 2026–2027 School Year
Test Information Distribution Engine
Based on input from educators, the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) has been updated to include several enhancements. Refer to the What’s New for the 2026–2027 School Year training module in the Learning Management System (LMS) for more information. The following enhancements have been made to TIDE:
Search Students by Texas Student Data System (TSDS) ID: Users can now search for students by entering or uploading a list of TSDS IDs. After the TSDS IDs are entered or uploaded, a list of students with the corresponding TSDS IDs will appear.
Partial Name Searches: An updated user interface allows for partial name searches.
Multiteacher Rosters: This feature allows applicable user roles to associate multiple teachers with a roster.
Quick Action Tools: This feature allows applicable user roles to easily access Print, Add to Roster, Move, and Delete tools.
Delete Rosters via Upload: This feature allows applicable users to delete rosters via their upload file. Users will continue to have the option to delete rosters via the TIDE user interface.
User-Specific Time Zones: TIDE will display dates and times based on a user's browser time, rather than server times. For example, appeals submitted by users in the Mountain Time Zone will be displayed in their local time in the TIDE user interface.
Combined Participation Report (coming soon): A new participation report that includes online test and nonparticipation score code information will be available later this school year on the Monitoring Test Progress card and in the Test Progress Reports dropdown menu.
Test Delivery System
The following updates have been made to the Test Delivery System (TDS):
Test Administrator Interface Identification: The interface has been configured to include color differentiation for operational and practice tests. Operational tests have a blue background, and practice tests have a green background, mirroring the colors in the Student Interface.
Student Interface Color Choices: A gray-on-green background option has been added to the Student Interface under the Color Settings tool.
Student Interface Audio Player Duration Display: To improve clarity, pacing, and accessibility, the audio player now displays elapsed and total time, allowing students to monitor audio playback duration and completion.
Word Prediction (Co:Writer): This tool has been updated to allow eligible students to independently enable or disable the functionality. Word Prediction (Co:Writer) is enabled by default if a student has this accommodation turned on in TIDE.
RADAR (coming spring 2027): The Real-Time Assessment Dashboard for Administration and Reporting (RADAR) is a centralized data insight and distribution platform that will provide near real-time visibility into all testing activity occurring at a district.
NOTE: RADAR is only available for district testing coordinators and district testing assistants.
Centralized Reporting System
The Centralized Reporting System (CRS) now includes a column to indicate the passing standard for a student’s end-of-course (EOC) assessments. A single passing standard, set when a student first takes an EOC assessment, is used for all subjects.
The final State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) English II assessment will be administered in June 2027.
The 2026–27 STAAR Test Administrator Manual is valid through the December 2027 administration of the remaining EOC assessments. Districts should plan to retain and reuse their printed copies through December 2027, as additional copies will not be printed.
The State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted new English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) in 2024 that will become effective in classrooms in the 2026–27 school year. As a result, the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) will transition to a new assessment in the 2028–29 school year, with five proficiency levels instead of four. TELPAS will continue to be assessed across four domains. For more information about the new ELPS, contact the TEA Curriculum Standards and Student Support Division.
Transition-year assessments will be used during the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years to measure the English language proficiency of emergent bilingual (EB) students. The grades K–1 holistic assessment and grades 2–12 assessments will continue to align to the four current proficiency levels (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced High) during the transition years. For more information, refer to the TELPAS Resources web page.
The TELPAS online rater training courses available in the fall will assist in training raters on procedures for the transition-year holistic assessments.
As a result of the changes to the ELPS, TELPAS Alternate will also transition to a new assessment in the 2028–29 school year. However, during the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years, the current TELPAS Alternate Holistic Inventory and alternate proficiency levels will continue to be used for assessment purposes. Emergent bilingual (EB) students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in grades 2–12 who meet participation requirements should continue to be assessed holistically using the TELPAS Alternate Observable Behaviors Inventory. For more information, refer to the TELPAS Alternate Resources web page.