Statewide data released by the Texas Tribune shows that requests to rescore the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) have tripled since last year. The surge is driven largely by the automated scoring system that grades written responses, prompting several San Antonio-area districts to consider additional human review when scores affect promotion, graduation or campus ratings.
How districts are responding
North East Independent School District told the Tribune it has not submitted any rescoring requests after reviewing scores and concluding the process would not improve either student outcomes or campus ratings.
Northside Independent School District reported that 23% of reading tests for grades 3‑8 were affected by the state’s automatic rescoring. Using internal modeling, the district identified two campuses that met its criteria and ultimately submitted 60 tests from one campus. Three of those tests received a higher performance level after human review.
Somerset ISD noted that the new 2025‑2026 automatic rescore policy flags students whose raw scores fall within one point of the next performance level. After receiving the state’s automatic rescore file, the district found most flagged responses had already been processed. Nevertheless, Somerset moved forward with four additional rescoring requests from its Intermediate campus, and three of those resulted in increased scores.
San Carlos Unified (SCUC) ISD submitted a larger batch, requesting rescoring for 597 assessments from the 2026 STAAR administration. Of those, 144 scores changed – roughly 24.1%. The breakdown includes 452 reading language arts assessments (grades 3‑8) with 133 changes, and 145 English I and English II assessments with 11 changes.
Cost considerations
The Texas Education Agency charges districts $50 per test when a rescoring request does not change the score. If the score does change, the district incurs no fee. This cost structure encourages districts to be selective about which tests they submit for human review.
What’s next
KSAT has reached out to additional area districts for comment and will update the story as more responses arrive. Parents and educators are watching closely, as rescoring outcomes can influence student promotion decisions and the state’s rating of individual campuses.
Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
