The 140-day 2025 Texas Legislative Session may have ended on Monday but not before lawmakers approved 1,189 bills for Governor Gregg Abbott’s signature [from 8,719 bills filed]. But lawmakers failed to reach a deal on replacing the STAAR test, the state’s standardized test for public schools.
As The Texas Newsroom reports, House Bill 4 sought to replace STAAR with three shorter tests spread across the school year. But disagreements between the Texas House and Senate stalled progress on the proposal over the weekend. The Senate wanted to give the state education agency more control over school ratings, which rely heavily on STAAR test scores.
The House, on the other hand, insisted the agency get lawmakers’ approval before making major changes. With no compromise reached, the bill stalled out. For now, the STAAR test remains the state’s primary tool to measure student performance in Texas public schools.
A Closer Look: How Texas’ Controversial Staar Test Survived the Legislative Session
