On June 10, 2013, House Bill 5 was signed by Gov. Rick Perry, resulting in students needing to pass five end-of-course exams instead of 15 to meet graduation requirements. Below are answers to a few common questions about the new legislation. 

1. Which end-of-course (EOC) tests are required for graduation due to HB 5?

English I*, English II*, Algebra I, U.S. History and Biology

*reading and writing combined

2. If a student does not pass an EOC that is still required for graduation under HB 5, does the student still have to go to summer school and re-take the exam?

Districts are required to provide summer EOC camps for any student who fails to achieve satisfactory performance on these exams, and students are encouraged to participate at each retesting opportunity.

3. Will EOC exam results be included in students’ grades?

No. HB 5 has eliminated that requirement.

4. What courses will require an EOC test?

Algebra I
English I and English II
Biology
U.S. History 

Testing Timeline:

1st Testing Administration: Spring
2nd Opportunity: Summer (June)
3rd Opportunity: Fall (December)

Impact on Graduation:

Under current guidelines of House Bill 3 (HB 3), of the 82nd Texas Legislature, the 9th grade class starting in 2011-2012, students will take up to 5 EOC assessments listed above based on their participation in courses. Each student must meet a Satisfactory Academic Performance (Approaches) on each EOC assessment they take in order to graduate.

Student Performance:

Once students have taken a STAAR assessment they will receive a score indicating their performance. Students performance will fall in to one of the three categories below:

• Masters Academic Performance
• Meets Academic Performance
• Approaches Academic Performance
• Did Not Meet

High school students may continue to take the exams until they meet the passing standards.

STAAR

STAAR Spanish