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The 7mÊÓƵ (7mÊÓƵ) aims to support school systems (school districts or open-enrollment charter schools) in making optimal decisions regarding required implementation of early childhood instruments. Effective data collection and use transforms a child's educational journey in the early grades.
7mÊÓƵ announces the upcoming launch of an application process to identify commissioner-approved kindergarten reading readiness instruments and commissioner-approved foundational literacy and numeracy instruments for kindergarten through grade 3. Visit the Call for K–3 Literacy and Numeracy Instruments webpage for additional details.
The deadline for submission is April 06, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. CST.
The information below reflects current instrument administration requirements for the 2026–2027 school year.
To support the delivery of high-quality, full-day prekindergarten for eligible 4-year-old students, school systems must collect student progress monitoring data in the following five required domains:
Data must be collected at the beginning-of-year (BOY), middle-of-year (MOY), and end-of-year (EOY) using an instrument from the Commissioner's List of Approved Prekindergarten Progress Monitoring Instruments ().
Raw BOY and EOY data for all eligible 4-year-old prekindergarten students must be submitted to 7mÊÓƵ in the Prekindergarten Early Childhood Data System (ECDS) Collection. For additional information regarding ECDS timelines, visit the webpage.
To support the measurement of foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension, school systems must administer a Commissioner-approved kindergarten reading instrument to all kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year ().
*These new requirements are established in House Bill 2, Article 5, Section 5.09, 89th Texas Legislature (amending TEC, §28.006).
Raw BOY data for kindergarten students must be submitted to 7mÊÓƵ in the Kindergarten ECDS Collection. For additional information regarding ECDS timelines, visit the webpage.
The mandates that school systems administer universal dyslexia screening for all kindergarten students by the end of the year and all grade 1 students by January 31st. The updated Dyslexia Handbook provides current screening criteria. The criteria for English and Spanish screening instruments are as follows:
Kindergarten - Screened by End of Year
Grade 1 - Screened by January 31st
Kindergarten Reading Readiness Approved Instruments: Commissioner-approved reading instruments that meet the requirement of (Kindergarten Reading Readiness) include aligned dyslexia screening elements. These free tools meet the dyslexia screener requirements outlined in the Dyslexia Handbook; however, they are not required to be used by school systems to fulfill dyslexia screener requirements. School systems should ensure planned dyslexia screening instruments meet the revised criteria.
House Bill (HB) 2, 89th Texas Legislature, established statewide requirements related to foundational literacy and numeracy instruments. For additional information regarding implementation guidance for House Bill 2 foundational literacy and numeracy assessment requirements for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years, review the HB 2 Implementation: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Instruments and Extension of Current K–2 Reading Instruments correspondence published on January 29, 2026.
Click through the following grade levels to see the statutory references that guide the mentioned requirements.
(c-1) A prekindergarten class under this section for children who are least four years of age must comply with the program standards required for high quality prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E-1. (c)
Subchapter E-1 (c) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school shall:
(c) An assessment instrument administered to a prekindergarten program class must be selected from a list of appropriate prekindergarten assessment instruments identified by the commissioner.
(c) A school district that offers prekindergarten classes shall include the following information in the district's Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) report: (6) if the district elects to administer an assessment instrument under Section to students enrolled in district and campus prekindergarten program classes, a description and the results of each type of assessment instrument;
(a) A school district shall: (c) An assessment instrument administered to a prekindergarten program class must be selected from a list of appropriate prekindergarten assessment instruments identified by the commissioner.
(c) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school shall measure: (1) at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year, the progress of each student in meeting the recommended end of prekindergarten year outcomes identified in the 2015 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines using a progress monitoring tool included on the commissioner's list of approved prekindergarten instruments that measures: (A) social and emotional development, which may be referred to as "health and wellness" in a progress monitoring tool; (B) emergent literacy language and communication; (C) emergent literacy reading; (D) emergent literacy writing; and (E) mathematics;
(h) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school shall develop, implement, and make available on the district, charter, or campus website by November 1 of each school year, a family engagement plan to assist the district in achieving and maintaining high levels of family involvement and positive family attitudes toward education. An effective family engagement plan creates a foundation for the collaboration of mutual partners, embraces the individuality and uniqueness of families, and promotes a culture of learning that is child centered, age appropriate, and family driven.
(2) The family engagement plan shall:
(D) equip families with tools to enhance and extend learning using strategies such as:
(i) providing families with updates at least three times a year that specify student progress in health and wellness, language and communication, emergent literacy reading, emergent literacy writing, and mathematics;
(b) The commissioner shall adopt a reading instrument that a school district shall use at the beginning of the school year to measure a kindergarten student's foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension. A reading instrument adopted under this subsection may include other developmental skills as part of a multidimensional assessment tool. A reading instrument adopted by the commissioner must be based on scientific research concerning foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension and provide for measuring the foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension of students, including students participating in a program under Subchapter , Chapter .
(b-1) The commissioner may approve not more than two alternative reading instruments for use in measuring the foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension of kindergarten students that complies with the requirements under Subsection (b).
(c-2) Not later than the 60th day after the beginning of the school year, each school district shall administer at the kindergarten level a reading instrument adopted by the commissioner under Subsection (b) or approved by the commissioner under Subsection (b-1). The district shall administer the reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's recommendations under Subsection (a)(1) and policies developed by commissioner rule.
(d) The superintendent of each school district shall: (1) report to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the district at a public meeting of the board the results of a reading instrument administered to students under this section; (2) not later than the earlier of the 20th school day or the 30th calendar day after the date on which the results of a reading instrument are available, report, in writing or electronically, to a student's parent or guardian the student's results on the instrument; and (3) using the school readiness certification system provided to the school district in accordance with Section (e), report electronically each student's raw score on the reading instrument to the agency for use in the school readiness certification system.
(h) The school district shall make a good faith effort to ensure that the report required under Subsection (d)(2) is provided either in person or electronically and that the report is clear and easy to understand and is written in English and in the parent or guardian's native language.
SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS. (a) Students enrolling in public schools in this state shall be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the State Board of Education. The program must include screening at the end of the school year of each student in kindergarten and each student in the first grade.
SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS. (a) Students enrolling in public schools in this state shall be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the State Board of Education. The program must include screening at the end of the school year of each student in kindergarten and each student in the first grade.
(a) The commissioner shall adopt a list of reading and mathematics instruments approved or developed by the commissioner for use by school districts in kindergarten through grade three to measure students' foundational literacy skills in reading development and comprehension and foundational numeracy skills in mathematics.
(d) The instruments adopted or approved under this section shall be administered as follows: (1) for kindergarten, at the middle and end of the school year; (2) for first and second grade, at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year; and (3) for third grade, at the beginning and middle of the school year.
(g) A school district shall administer to students in kindergarten through third grade a reading instrument and a mathematics instrument adopted under Subsection (a) in accordance with requirements and recommendations established by the commissioner under this section, including requirements or recommendations related to: (1) administering the instruments; (2) training staff on the instruments; and (3) applying the results of the instruments to the district's instructional program.
(h) The superintendent of each school district shall: (1) report to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the district at a public meeting of the board the results of a reading or mathematics instrument administered to students under this section; and (2) not later than the earlier of the 20th school day or the 30th calendar day after the date on which the results of a reading or mathematics instrument are available, report, in writing or electronically, to a student's parent or guardian: (A) the student's results on the instrument; (B) for a reading instrument, the report described by Subsection (b)(7); and (C) if the student is determined to be at risk for dyslexia or a related disorder based on the results of the reading instrument, information regarding that determination.
(j) A student's parent or guardian may submit a written request to the administrator of the campus at which the student is enrolled to opt the student out of the administration of a reading or mathematics instrument required under this section. A school district may not encourage or direct a parent or guardian to submit a written request under this subsection