Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

The Texas Education Agency's introduction of a new state assessment program (STAAR/EOC) requires a shift in instructional focus as it relates to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The state assessments are still based on the TEKS. However, the assessments now focus on fewer standards and assess those standards in a deeper manner. TEA has identified for each grade or course a set of knowledge and skills drawn from the TEKS eligible to be assessed and emphasized this set of knowledge and skills, called readiness standards, on the assessments. The remaining knowledge and skills are considered supporting standards or process standards and will be assessed, though not emphasized.

Readiness standards represent the complex, broad concepts associated with a grade level or course. They account for approximately 30 percent of the standards for a grade level or course but reflect approximately 65 percent of what STAAR assesses.

Readiness Standards
  • require in-depth instruction (more complex)
    • necessitate higher level thinking
    • are more difficult to teach
    • represent important content for any single course or grade level
    • support college and career readiness
  • address broad and deep ideas (concepts)

Instructional Design with a Purpose
  • The Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) for each curriculum area are built on student expectations using Blooms' Taxonomy verbs or verb phrases. The level at which a student is expected to perform is identified by this verb phrase.  
  • All activities must be correlated with the correct level of thinking  to ensure that the student performs at the proper level of expectation.
  • When the student expectation requires a certain level of performance on Blooms' Taxonomy, the student must be taught using strategies that engage the student at least one to two levels of thinking above that Blooms verb.
  • Any Blooms verb or verb phrase that indicates a level of application or above, should be carefully identified as having a potential for becoming a project-based instructional piece. 
  • Any student expectation that requires analyzing, evaluating, or creating must be taught over a period of time. 
  • All assessments must be based on the expectations for the student's level of thinking or above.