Tutoring in Texas
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Texas, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Texas still gives STAAR in the 2026-27 school year. Students in grades 3 to 8 take reading language arts and math each April, and science is added in grades 5 and 8. In high school the tests follow the course, so Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History each end with a STAAR exam whenever your child takes the class, and those results count toward a diploma. This is the last year of that arrangement. A law passed in 2025 replaces STAAR in 2027-28 with the Student Success Tool, which tests grades 3 to 8 at the beginning, middle and end of the year and drops the English II exam.
What Texas tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | STAAR | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | STAAR | Not tested | Not tested | STAAR | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- STAAR: science, grades 5 and 8
- Main testing window
- early to late April, with end-of-course retakes in December and June
- Standards
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
- Exams tied to a course
- Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History (STAAR end-of-course)
The English II exam stops being a graduation requirement for students who graduate after August 31, 2027, but anyone enrolled in English II during 2026-27 still has to sit it. Every end-of-course exam is offered again in December and June, so a student who misses the passing mark in April has two more dates before the next school year.
Is there a graduation test in Texas?
Yes. A student has to pass the STAAR end-of-course exams in Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History, although a student who has failed no more than two can graduate through an individual graduation committee, and English II stops counting for anyone who graduates after August 31, 2027.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for STAAR. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.