Texas School Districts Requested Thousands of Test Rescores
The Texas Education Agency saw rescoring requests jump to 64,489 this spring following automated test grading.
Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Secondary Education
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Texas school districts submitted 64,489 requests to regrade STAAR reading tests in spring 2026. This surge follows the Texas Education Agency transition to automated scoring for open-ended questions in December 2023.
Why it matters
Administrators seek manual reviews to potentially improve student performance levels and campus accountability ratings. The Texas Education Agency notes that hand-scoring all responses would cost up to $20 million annually and cause significant delays.
Over 3.2 million Texas students took the STAAR reading exam this spring, with less than 0.5% of open-ended responses receiving score changes after manual review. Schools must pay a $50 fee for every unsuccessful rescoring request.
The players
Texas Education Agency
This is the state government agency responsible for overseeing primary and secondary public education in Texas.
Dallas ISD
This is a large public school district in Texas that submitted 5,100 STAAR rescoring requests.
The details
The Texas Education Agency employs a hybrid model using computer grading for open-ended questions while human scorers manually review one-quarter of initial results. Nearly 90% of the districts and charter networks that requested reviews, including large districts like Dallas ISD, saw at least one score increase.
Timeline
The Texas Education Agency introduced automated scoring in December 2023.
The state received 2,758 regrade requests in spring 2024.
Texas districts filed 64,489 rescoring requests in spring 2026.
School accountability ratings were released in August 2026.
Culture Shift
The push for test rescoring is driven by the high stakes associated with the Texas school A-F accountability ratings system. This movement reflects a growing tension between automated administrative efficiency and the pressure for granular accuracy in state performance metrics.
Parents and students in districts like Dallas ISD may see adjusted end-of-year performance data as a result of these thousands of manual reviews. Schools face financial implications from the $50 fee for unsuccessful requests, which may influence local district budget allocations.
The takeaway
Districts are increasingly utilizing manual appeals as a strategic tool to navigate standardized testing outcomes. Stakeholders should monitor whether these high rescoring volumes lead to modifications in the state's current hybrid grading model.
Further reading
For more information on state assessment standards, visit the Secondary Education section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KPRC.
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