TAKS

TAKS, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, was a standards-based standardized test used by the Texas Education Agency to measure student mastery of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Introduced in 2003 to replace the TAAS program, TAKS was administered annually in the spring to students in grades 3 through 11 in core subjects such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. The assessment also included accommodated and alternative forms for students with significant cognitive disabilities or English language learners, notably TAKS-M (modified) and TAKS-Alt (alternate).

Test formats typically combined selected-response and constructed-response items, with writing tasks incorporated at certain grade levels. Results were used for school accountability at the campus and district levels and, in high school, played a role in graduation considerations under the state’s accountability framework at the time. The program complemented other TEKS-aligned assessments and informed curriculum planning and student support strategies.

TAKS was gradually phased out in the early 2010s as Texas moved to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). STAAR was designed to align more closely with revised TEKS standards and to introduce a new set of end-of-course and other assessments, changing reporting formats and performance levels. The transition marked a shift in Texas’ approach to statewide testing, accountability, and graduation requirements, with TAKS gradually retired from official use after the 2011-2012 school year.