Texas Assessment Reform: From TTAP to the Student Success Tool
Texas Assessment Is Entering a New Era
Texas has been exploring alternatives to traditional end-of-year testing for years.
The Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot (TTAP) was an important part of that work. Created following House Bill 3906 in 2019, TTAP was designed to explore whether Texas could replace its traditional summative assessment with a cohesive progress-monitoring system that gives students multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery throughout the school year.
But the state’s assessment landscape changed significantly in 2025.
House Bill 8, passed during the 89th Texas Legislature, 2nd Called Session, established a new direction for the Texas Assessment Program. Beginning in the 2027–28 school year, STAAR will be replaced by a new instructionally supportive assessment program referred to in statute as the Student Success Tool (SST).
Texas is no longer simply exploring what a through-year assessment system might look like. It is preparing to implement a new statewide model.
Where TTAP Fits Into the Story
TTAP began as an exploratory program required by House Bill 3906 in 2019.
The pilot tested a through-year model with three shorter assessment opportunities—in fall, winter, and spring. The goal was to determine whether multiple progress-monitoring assessments could ultimately contribute to a valid summative performance level while providing information at additional points during the year.
TTAP helped Texas explore questions around assessment design, adaptive testing, progress monitoring, and the feasibility of moving beyond a single summative testing event.
But TTAP is no longer on its original trajectory.
Following the passage of HB 8, TEA announced that TTAP is paused until spring 2029, and no TTAP report is planned for 2026.
That distinction matters. TTAP and the Student Success Tool are connected to the broader evolution of Texas assessment, but SST should not simply be described as the next phase or renamed version of TTAP.
What House Bill 8 Changes
HB 8 makes significant changes to the Texas Assessment Program beginning with the 2027–28 school year.
For grades 3–8, the Student Success Tool will include:
- A beginning-of-year (BOY) assessment
- A middle-of-year (MOY) assessment
- An end-of-year (EOY) assessment
The BOY and MOY assessments are designed to be shorter, adaptive progress-monitoring assessments. The EOY assessment remains the required statewide end-of-year component.
For end-of-course subjects, BOY and MOY assessments will be optional. Beginning in 2027–28, the English II EOC assessment will also be eliminated as both an assessment and graduation requirement.
The 2026–27 school year remains the final full year of STAAR implementation, with the new system beginning the following school year.
More Flexibility at the Beginning and Middle of the Year
One particularly important feature of HB 8 is that districts will not necessarily be limited to the state-provided BOY and MOY assessments.
TEA must provide BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments, but school systems may choose approved alternative instruments for the BOY and MOY administrations.
TEA opened a process in 2026 for assessment providers and local education agencies to submit alternative BOY and MOY instruments for review. Approved assessments will be eligible for statewide use beginning in 2027–28.
The EOY assessment, however, will be the assessment provided by TEA.
This creates a statewide structure while preserving some local flexibility in how districts monitor student progress earlier in the year.
What “Instructionally Supportive” Means
TEA describes the new assessment program as instructionally supportive.
That phrase represents an important shift in how assessment information is intended to function.
Instead of assessment serving only as an end-of-year accountability measure, BOY and MOY assessments are intended to provide information about student performance and growth while there is still time for educators to respond.
TEA is already developing reporting prototypes that show how BOY and MOY student performance information may be presented to teachers. Those prototypes remain under development and are being refined with stakeholder input.
The opportunity is to make assessment information more useful during instruction—not simply after the school year is over.
The Transition Is Already Underway
Although SST does not begin until 2027–28, implementation work is happening now.
TEA has released assessed-curriculum information, reporting prototypes, guidance for alternative BOY and MOY instruments, and other implementation resources.
A required SST stand-alone field test is scheduled for February 1–5, 2027 for selected campuses. The field test will support development of future SST assessments, and results will be used for assessment-development purposes rather than reported as student performance results.
For districts, that means 2026–27 isn’t simply another STAAR year. It’s also a transition year in which leaders can begin preparing for a substantially different statewide assessment structure.
Three State Checkpoints Still Leave a Lot of Learning in Between
The move to BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments gives Texas educators additional formal checkpoints.
But even three statewide assessment points cannot provide a continuous picture of student learning.
Between BOY and MOY—and again between MOY and EOY—students complete months of lessons, assignments, discussions, practice, written responses, and formative checks.
That’s where everyday classroom evidence becomes especially valuable.
A student who struggles with a standard in October shouldn’t have to wait until the next statewide assessment window for that learning need to become visible.
Connecting the Student Success Tool to Everyday Instruction
This is where Classwork can complement Texas’s changing assessment system.
Classwork helps turn everyday classroom work into useful, standards-aligned evidence. Teachers can create or convert instructional activities, collect auto-scored and open-ended student responses, and see performance while learning is happening.
Because activities can be aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), teachers can see evidence connected to the same standards that shape Texas curriculum and assessment.
At the school and district levels, leaders can use reporting to identify patterns across classrooms, schools, and standards—providing another layer of instructional visibility between formal statewide checkpoints.
The Student Success Tool will provide important state assessment information at defined points during the year.
Classwork helps districts see more of what happens in between.
Conclusion
Texas assessment reform has moved beyond the original TTAP conversation.
TTAP remains an important part of the state’s assessment-development history, but HB 8 has established a new statewide direction. STAAR’s final full year will be 2026–27, and beginning in 2027–28, Texas will transition to the Student Success Tool with BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments for grades 3–8.
The transition represents more than a change in testing schedules. It creates an opportunity to connect formal assessment checkpoints more closely with the instructional decisions educators make throughout the year.
For districts, the challenge will be making those different layers of information work together.
State assessments provide the checkpoints. Everyday classroom evidence helps complete the picture.
Resources
Texas Education Agency. Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot (TTAP).
Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot
Texas Education Agency. (2026). House Bill 8 Update and Resources.
House Bill 8 Update and Resources
Texas Education Agency. (2026). House Bill 8: Student Assessment.
House Bill 8: Student Assessment
Texas Education Agency. (2026). Call for House Bill 8 Alternative BOY & MOY Assessment Instruments.
HB 8 Alternative BOY & MOY Assessment Instruments
Texas Education Agency. TTAP Year 1 Pilot Report.
TTAP Year 1 Pilot Report
This article is part of the Classwork.com Through-Year Assessment Series.
Quick Summary & Common Questions
What is the Texas Student Success Tool?
The Student Success Tool (SST) is the name used in statute for Texas’s new instructionally supportive assessment program. Beginning in the 2027–28 school year, it will replace STAAR and include BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments for grades 3–8.
Is TTAP becoming the Student Success Tool?
No. TTAP was an exploratory through-year assessment pilot established following HB 3906. HB 8 created the new statewide assessment structure that may be called the Student Success Tool. TEA has paused TTAP until spring 2029.
When does the Student Success Tool replace STAAR?
The new assessment program begins in the 2027–28 school year. The 2026–27 school year is the final full year of STAAR implementation.
Will districts have to use TEA’s BOY and MOY assessments?
Not necessarily. TEA will provide BOY and MOY assessments, but districts may use alternative BOY and MOY instruments that have been approved by the commissioner. The state-provided EOY assessment will be required.
What happens to TTAP?
TEA states that TTAP is paused until spring 2029 as Texas implements the changes required by HB 8. No TTAP report is planned for 2026.
How can Classwork support Texas districts during this transition?
Classwork complements formal state assessments by helping districts collect standards-aligned evidence from everyday instruction. Teachers can use TEKS-aligned activities, auto-scored and open-ended responses, and reporting to understand student performance between BOY, MOY, and EOY assessment checkpoints.