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Alice ISD staff outline changes from House Bill 8, previewing new Student Success Tool for 2027–28
Summary
Curriculum staff told the board that STAAR testing will be replaced in 2027–28 by a shorter 'Student Success Tool' (SST) with beginning/middle/end year assessments, faster turnaround of results, and the elimination of the English II end-of-course exam; district said it is awaiting detailed state guidance on graduation implications.
District curriculum staff briefed the Alice ISD board on legislative changes under House Bill 8 and the state's plans to replace the STAAR assessment program with a proposed "Student Success Tool," starting in the 2027–28 school year.
Staff said the new assessments are intended to be shorter than current STAAR tests and will include beginning-of-year, middle-of-year and end-of-year administrations for grades 3–8; the beginning- and middle-year assessments for high school would be optional. Officials noted the end-of-year exams are planned to shift to May to give teachers extra instruction time and that the state plans to reduce assessment administration time (for example, end-of-year tests at grades 3–4 expected to be about 60 minutes, 5–8 about 75 minutes, and end-of-year testing 90–105 minutes rather than multiple hours).
The presentation said the state aims for faster turnaround of results — projected within two business days after the testing window in the first year and within one day in subsequent years — which district staff said could help teachers with more timely instructional adjustments. Staff also reported that the English II end-of-course assessment will be eliminated under the current proposals, though the English I end-of-course would remain. District staff emphasized that students graduating in 2026 or 2027 would not see changes to their graduation requirements.
Curriculum staff stressed the district is still awaiting detailed transition guidance from the state about graduation requirements for the class of 2028 and beyond and pledged to provide updates to the board as more information is released.
