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Article · For parents · ~5 min read

STAAR Scores Explained

Masters, Meets, Approaches, Did Not Meet. What each performance level actually means for your kid. What "passing" looks like. And what to do when the score report comes home.

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Check your STAAR score First time? Parent guide

The four performance levels

Every STAAR result lands in one of four buckets. The cutoff between buckets is the same statewide and is set by TEA before the test is administered.

  • Masters Grade Level — top tier. Your kid is strongly prepared for the next grade, with depth on grade-level content. ~30-40% of Texas kids land here on a given test, depending on grade and subject.
  • Meets Grade Level — your kid is prepared for the next grade. This is the unofficial "passing" target most districts care about. Roughly half of Texas kids meet this bar.
  • Approaches Grade Level — your kid is close but needs targeted support. Most kids in this bucket move up with focused practice on their weakest strand.
  • Did Not Meet Grade Level — your kid needs significant support to catch up. Districts are required to offer intervention services.

Is there a "passing" STAAR score?

Officially, no. TEA stopped using the word "passing" in 2018. Practically, "Meets Grade Level" is what districts treat as passing — it's the bar that says your kid is on track for next grade.

The grade-3 reading "retest" requirement was eliminated in 2021. The grade-5 and grade-8 retests are now optional in most districts. So a "Did Not Meet" or "Approaches" on STAAR does NOT automatically hold your kid back. Promotion decisions are made by the district based on multiple factors, with STAAR as one input.

For high-school End-of-Course exams (Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, U.S. History), students must score at least "Approaches" on five of those tests to graduate. This is a real graduation requirement, unlike grade 3-8.

The scaled score

Beyond the performance level, you'll see a scaled score — a number between roughly 1100 and 1900, depending on grade and subject. The performance-level cutoffs vary by grade. For example, on grade-4 STAAR Math:

  • Did Not Meet: below ~1450
  • Approaches: ~1450-1545
  • Meets: ~1546-1640
  • Masters: 1641 and above

These are approximate — TEA publishes the exact cutoffs each year after standard-setting. The scaled score lets you compare across years and across grades on the same scale.

The most useful part of the report: the strand breakdown

Past the headline performance level and scaled score, there's a per-reporting-category breakdown. For STAAR Math Grade 4, those categories are:

  • Numerical Representations and Relationships
  • Computations and Algebraic Relationships
  • Geometry and Measurement
  • Data Analysis and Personal Financial Literacy

Each category gets a percent-correct. This is the most actionable part of the score report. If your kid scored "Approaches" overall, the strand breakdown tells you whether they're weak on computation (drillable) or weak on geometry (conceptually different problem). Different gaps, different fixes.

Spend 70% of next year's practice time on the lowest-percentage strand. That's the highest-leverage thing you can do based on the score report.

What to do when the score report comes home

Three things, in order of importance:

  1. Don't react in front of your kid. Whatever the number is, your kid is watching your face. A relieved smile or a tight frown teaches them what the test is "for." Look at the report after they're in bed.
  2. Find the weakest strand. Open the per-category breakdown. The one with the lowest percent is the target for the next school year.
  3. Make a practice plan. 15-20 minutes a day, 4 days a week, targeting the weak strand. Free TEKS-aligned worksheets work great for this. Full strategy guide at How to Prep for STAAR at Home.

What scores DON'T mean

  • They don't decide whether your kid is "smart."
  • They don't predict college, career, or future test scores with any reliability.
  • They don't measure effort, kindness, creativity, or any of the things that actually matter.
  • They don't automatically hold kids back (in grades 3-8).

They measure one specific thing: how much grade-level content your kid had mastered on the day they took the test. That's useful information. It's not a verdict.

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