TExES 257 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the TExES 257 Pass Rate Actually Tells You

When candidates search for the TExES 257 pass rate, they're usually trying to answer one question: how likely am I to pass? The Texas Education Agency (TEA) publishes statewide pass rate data by certification program year, and that number is the only reliable public benchmark for TExES Health EC-12 (257). It's worth being precise here, because "TExES 257" is sometimes confused with unrelated credentials that share similar numbering - this article, and this entire site, is exclusively about the Health EC-12 (257) exam administered by Pearson on behalf of TEA and the State Board for Educator Certification.

A pass rate is a snapshot, not a guarantee. It reflects how a specific pool of candidates performed during a specific program year, under a specific passing standard. It does not tell you how well-prepared any individual candidate was, and it doesn't predict your outcome. Still, the data is useful for calibrating expectations and for understanding what a "pass" actually requires. For a full breakdown of the passing formula itself, see the TExES 257 Passing Score 2026 guide.

The Official 2024-2025 Pass Rate Numbers

For the 2024-2025 program year, TEA reported the following statewide results for TExES Health EC-12 (257):

• First-attempt pass rate: 95%
• Best-attempt pass rate (cumulative): 96%
• Reported population: N=294 candidates

The gap between the first-attempt figure (95%) and the best-attempt figure (96%) is narrow, which suggests that most candidates who pass do so on their first try, and that retakes close only a small remaining gap. That pattern is consistent with an exam where the content is learnable and finite rather than unpredictable.

Why a High Pass Rate Doesn't Mean an Easy Exam

It's tempting to read a 95% first-attempt pass rate and conclude the exam requires little preparation. That conclusion doesn't hold up once you look at who is sitting for the exam and what the test actually measures. Most candidates approach TExES 257 through an educator preparation program (EPP), which means they've already completed coursework in health education, child development, and pedagogy before they're even approved to test. The pass rate reflects a filtered, prepared population - not a random sample of the general public.

It's also worth separating "pass rate" from "difficulty." The exam covers five domains with real depth, including a written constructed response that's scored differently from the multiple-choice sections. For a domain-by-domain difficulty breakdown, read How Hard Is the TExES 257 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026. The short version: the pass rate is high in part because the population is prepared, not because the content is thin.

How the 240 Passing Score Is Built

TExES 257 uses a 100-300 scaled score, and 240 is the passing threshold. Under 19 TAC 151.1001, effective for administrations beginning September 2, 2025, the scoring is split into two parts:

• Selected-response portion: worth 72 points on the scale, with an average raw cut score of 41
• Constructed-response portion: worth 8 points, with a cut of 5

In practical terms, the 90 multiple-choice-style questions carry the overwhelming majority of the scoring weight, while the single written response - Domain V - is a smaller but non-trivial 8-point slice that can't be skipped or rushed. Because the two portions are scored separately and then combined, a candidate can't fully offset a weak constructed response with strong selected-response performance, or vice versa - both pieces matter. The full mechanics of this split, including how raw points convert to the 100-300 scale, are covered in the TExES 257 Passing Score 2026 guide.

Domain Weighting and Where Candidates Lose Points

The exam is organized into five domains, and they are not weighted equally. Understanding the weighting is the single most useful thing you can do before building a study plan, because it tells you where the points actually live.

Because Domain II alone carries nearly a third of the exam, and Domain V's constructed response adds another 20%, roughly half of your total score is determined by risk-reduction content and one written response. That's a meaningfully different preparation target than treating all five domains as equal. A full walkthrough of every domain, including sample question styles, is available in the TExES 257 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.

Format Factors That Shape Outcomes

The pass rate doesn't exist in isolation from the exam's format. A few mechanical details affect how candidates experience test day and, indirectly, how they perform:

• Question volume: 90 selected-response questions plus 1 constructed-response question, for 91 total scored components (unscored field-test items may also appear but don't count toward your score).
• Time allotment: a 5-hour total appointment, including 15 minutes for the CAT tutorial and compliance agreement and 4 hours 45 minutes of actual testing time.
• Delivery method: a computer-administered test (CAT) delivered at Pearson VUE centers in Texas and nationwide by appointment.
• Scoring timeline: because Domain V requires human scoring of a written response, results post on roughly a four-week cycle rather than instantly.

These logistics also connect to cost planning. The exam fee is $136, and if you withdraw, the refund equals the fee minus a $25 processing charge. Registration stays valid for 170 days. For the complete cost picture - including how fees fit into total certification spending - see the TExES 257 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

If You Don't Pass: Retake Rules and Timing

The retake structure matters just as much as the pass rate, because it shapes how much a first-attempt miss actually costs you in time. Candidates get five attempts at TExES 257, with a mandatory 30-day wait between attempts. Anyone who needs a sixth attempt must request a test-limit waiver from TEA directly.

Given the roughly four-week scoring cycle for results that include the constructed response, a candidate who doesn't pass on attempt one is often looking at close to two months between the first sitting and a realistic second attempt, once you account for waiting on scores and then satisfying the 30-day retake window. That timeline is a strong argument for front-loading preparation rather than treating the first attempt as a low-stakes trial run.

Remember, too, that TExES 257 is the redeveloped replacement for the retired Health EC-12 (157) exam, which stopped counting toward certification after September 1, 2025. If you're researching under the old exam number, all of that search intent now applies here - the domains, passing score, and pass rate discussed in this article are current to 257, not the retired 157 version.

Turning the Data Into a Study Plan

A high pass rate doesn't remove the need for a plan - it just tells you that a reasonable plan, executed consistently, tends to work for this exam. Given the domain weights, the most defensible allocation of study time follows the point distribution rather than splitting effort evenly across five domains.

Notice that this schedule gives Domain II two full weeks - proportional to its 30% weight - while Domains III and IV, at 14% and 13%, share a single week. This is a case where spaced review works better applied to weighted content than applied evenly: revisit Domain II flashcards or scenarios briefly during weeks 3-5 rather than only during weeks 1-2, since it's the single biggest score driver. For a step-by-step preparation framework built specifically around this exam, see the TExES 257 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also build test-day comfort using timed practice sets on the main practice test platform before your scheduled appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions