Texas: 2026 Assessment Results
Texas kicks off 2026 assessment reporting!
2026 State Test Score Results Data Series
Welcome to the 2026 State Test Score Results Data Series! This newsletter is published by the Education Data Center and is designed to provide updates on 2026 state assessment data.
What to expect: Our goal is to provide high-level insights on ELA and math state summative assessment outcomes for students in grades 3-8. We will publish overviews throughout the year as State Education Agencies (SEAs) release assessment results.
You asked, we listened! To help shape our 2026 series, we reviewed the feedback you shared with us via the EDC 2026 Feedback Form - you said even more disaggregation by subgroup and grade level would be useful, and some more information about school districts demonstrating growth compared to last year. In this 2026 series, we hope that the additional detail will be useful - and please continue to send input via the Feedback Form or our email below.
For additional information about each state assessment, please see the end of this post. All available 2026 assessment data used for this data series will be published by the EDC in December.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Let us know at info@eddatacenter.org!
Trends Over Time
Yesterday, Texas released the Spring 2026 STAAR results for students in grades 3-8, the first state to publish 2026 assessment results. The results in this post reflect outcomes from the assessment administered in English across all grades (there is a Spanish-language assessment administered as well in grades 3-5; that assessment is not included here).
In Texas, overall 2026 proficiency rates for students in grades 3–8 demonstrated slight gains in both ELA and math compared to 2025.
ELA: Approximately 55% of students reached proficiency in 2026, rising above 54% in 2025. Grade 3 proficiency dipped slightly, while proficiency in other grade levels remained about the same or increased.
Math: Approximately 43% of students reached proficiency in 2025, above 42% in 2025. TEA reported that most grade levels increased performance or held steady, aside from Grade 7: “The decline observed in the Grade 7 math assessment reflects the subset of students taking that test, as far more 7th grade students are taking the Grade 8 math assessment than ever before. When analyzed by students’ enrolled grade level rather than the assessment taken, the percentage of students meeting grade level expectations increased across every grade level.”
Results by Achievement Level
A Closer Look at 2026
State Assessment Background
Assessment Name: Texas STAAR assessment (administered in English), Grades 3-8. Note that in 2023, TX realigned the STAAR assessment, affecting comparability to prior years.
Additional Information:
More information about the STAAR assessment can be found here: https://tea.texas.gov/data-reports/staar/staar
STAAR aggregate-level data by state, region, district or campus are available to download on the Texas Assessment Research Portal: https://txresearchportal.com/
The Texas Education Agency 2026 press release can be found here (note that this includes information on the aggregate Spanish- and English-administered assessments): https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/newsroom/tea-releases-spring-2026-staarr-results-grades-3-8
Data presented here are specific to this state’s assessment and are not comparable to assessments administered by other states. For questions, please reach out to info@eddatacenter.org.