House narrowly concurs on overhaul of Texas school testing and accountability (HB 8)

The Texas House on Aug. 31 voted to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 8, a comprehensive rewrite of the state’s student assessment and accountability system that moves the state from a single end‑of‑year, high‑stakes test toward beginning‑, middle‑ and end‑of‑year checks and a new three‑year growth indicator.

“House Bill 8 ends the high stakes and high stress nature of one test one day,” Representative Buckley said while explaining the Senate changes. He described new guardrails that require TEA to report to the Legislature before major changes are implemented and said the bill preserves a year‑over‑year growth measure while creating a separate three‑year indicator to be reviewed before it affects A–F ratings.

The bill requires shorter,…