Alice ISD staff outline House Bill 8 changes: STAAR to 'student success tool' in 2027–28

Kim Kobala, the district curriculum presenter, told the Alice ISD Board on Nov. 17 that House Bill 8 will replace the STAAR testing program beginning in the 2027–28 school year with what the state is calling the Student Success Tool (SST). "House Bill 8 does replace STAAR with the new assessment program... the student success tool," Kobala said.

Kobala said the SST is intended to be shorter to reduce instructional disruption. For grades 3 and 4, beginning and middle‑of‑year assessments are expected to be about 60 minutes; grades 5–8 beginning/middle assessments about 75 minutes; and end‑of‑year assessments are expected to be 90–105 minutes at those grade levels. High‑school beginning and middle assessments will be optional in some instances, she said. The district was told the state aims to deliver assessment results to schools within two business days after the testing window in year one and within one day in subsequent years.

The presenter said the state will move most end‑of‑year assessments to May to give teachers an additional month of instruction. Kobala also said the English II end‑of‑course assessment will be eliminated at the 2027–28 transition; English I would remain. She emphasized that guidance is still incomplete: "More information on the transition plan for those groups will be provided in the future," she said, and the district will continue to share updates as state guidance becomes available.

District leaders noted that students graduating in 2026 or 2027 will not have their graduation requirements changed by the new law, while the district awaits further details about how the transition affects the class of 2028 and beyond.

Next steps: district curriculum staff will monitor TEA guidance and report further implementation details to the board and campuses as they are released.