The Senate Committee on Education K-16 voted 8–0 to report Senate Bill 8, authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, advancing a plan to phase out the STAAR exam and replace it with three shorter assessments — beginning-of-year, middle-of-year and end-of-year — and to tighten rules for the state’s A–F school accountability system.

The measure, presented to the committee as Senate Bill 8, would require the Texas Education Agency to provide adaptive beginning- and middle-of-year tests, a criterion-referenced end-of-year test, faster reporting of results and a statutory schedule for updating accountability standards. “What gets measured gets fixed,” Sen. Paul Bettencourt told the committee as he described the bill’s goals.

Supporters said the bill is intended to make assessment results more timely and actionable for teachers and families while preserving a standards-based end-of-year measure that shows whether students have met Texas learning standards. Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, told the committee the proposal calls for tests that are materially shorter than the current STAAR, with most beginning- and middle-of-year tests taking about an hour and the end-of-year test about an hour and a half for most students, and results returned within two business days of the testing window’s close.

Advocates from nonprofit and business groups said quicker, clearer results would help teachers change instruction during the school year and help parents partner with schools. Kate Greer of Texas 2036 said SB 8 “repeals the STAAR exam and replaces it with an assessment system that better supports classroom instruction and strengthens parent understanding.” Trista Bishop Watt of Good Reason Houston and Taylor Landon of the Greater Houston Partnership told the panel the proposal would give districts earlier, actionable growth data and support local improvement efforts; Landon noted changes in Houston ISD’s ratings as an example of accountability-driven improvement.

Key provisions and implementation details discussed at the hearing
- Testing structure and timing: The bill phases in the new testing system beginning with the 2027–28 school year. The state-provided beginning- and middle-of-year assessments will be adaptive and shorter than current STAAR administrations; districts may substitute other approved adaptive assessments for the beginning- and middle-of-year tests if those vendors meet statutory standards. The end-of-year criterion-referenced test must be the state test.
- Speed and transparency: Results from tests would be returned rapidly (commissioner Morath described a two-business-day turnaround) and include item-level results and the student’s answers so educators and parents can see specific areas for instruction. Bettencourt and witnesses repeatedly emphasized faster feedback to teachers and families.
- Limits on local practice tests: The bill would effectively prohibit the use of local benchmark or practice tests that consume instructional time, a change proponents said could restore 15–30 hours of instruction per student in many districts. David Osmond of Gibson Consulting Group testified that local assessments account for most assessment time and estimated the bill could buy back that instructional time.
- Accountability rules and cadence: SB 8 requires annual release of A–F ratings, establishes a five-year statutory refresh cycle for cut points and indicators, requires advance publication and modeling of proposed changes, and expands legislative oversight via an advisory committee and pre-publication reporting to legislative leaders. The measure also directs differential weighting of college, career and military readiness indicators and funds a grant program for districts that want to build local accountability measures.
- Rulemaking limits and legal challenges: The bill adds statutory constraints on how the commissioner sets cut points and requires that disputes over accountability be channeled through legislative oversight rather than through taxpayer-funded lawsuits, according to sponsors.

Public testimony and concerns
Witnesses from advocacy groups and the business community generally supported the bill’s goals of faster, more actionable data and more predictable accountability rules. Katrina Fraser of The Commit Partnership and Rachel Veil of Texas PTA said the changes could improve transparency and family engagement; Veil urged the committee to consider adding a family-engagement domain to the accountability code to ensure parent involvement is measured and valued.

Disability Rights Texas raised concerns about a provision that directs the commissioner to seek a federal waiver affecting special education campuses. Steven Aleman warned the committee that a blanket waiver could be overbroad, risk signaling that students in special settings are exempt from accountability, and should be narrowed and developed with stakeholders.

Local examples and larger stakes
Several witnesses and senators pointed to Houston ISD as an example of accountability-driven change: testimony said 74% of HISD campuses were A or B-rated in the district’s preliminary calculations, up from roughly 35% two years earlier, and that the district now had no F-rated campuses. Committee members also discussed Fort Worth, where the agency is evaluating intervention options for persistently low-performing campuses.

Committee action and next steps
After testimony and questions, the committee voted to report SB 8 favorably to the Senate floor by an 8–0 vote. Senator Parker moved the bill; the roll call included ayes from Bettencourt, Middleton, Paxton, Parker, Hinojosa, Hagenbu, Campbell and Creighton. The bill will proceed to the next steps in the Senate process.

The committee hearing record shows broad support for SB 8’s goals among invited witnesses, with remaining technical and policy questions — notably the special-education waiver and whether family-engagement metrics should be added to accountability — left for further consideration as the bill moves to the Senate floor.