TExES 257 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

What "Passing" Actually Means on the TExES 257

Every candidate preparing for the TExES Health EC-12 (257) eventually asks the same question: how many questions do I actually need to get right? The honest answer is that the exam does not work on a simple percentage-correct basis. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification report results on a scaled score that runs from 100 to 300, and the passing score for the TExES 257 is 240. That scaled number reflects both the difficulty of the specific items you received and your combined performance across the selected-response and constructed-response portions of the test.

Because the exam is developed and administered by Pearson (Evaluation Systems) as a computer-administered test, your raw performance is converted into that 100-300 scale using a statistical process that accounts for item difficulty. This is why two candidates who each miss a different set of questions can land on different scaled scores even if they answered the same number of items correctly overall. For a full breakdown of every content area feeding into that scaled score, see the TExES 257 Exam Domains Guide.

How the 240 Cut Score Breaks Down

Under 19 TAC 151.1001, the TExES 257 score is built from two separate pools of points, and both matter independently for administrations beginning September 2, 2025:

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

Add those together and you get 80 raw points that translate to the 240 scaled score threshold. In practice, this means the constructed response is not a minor afterthought - missing that single written response by a wide margin can undercut an otherwise strong selected-response performance. Because the written response is scored on its own scale within a small point range, every point on it carries real weight relative to its size.

Because scoring involves a written component, results for the TExES 257 are released on a roughly four-week cycle rather than instantly. If you are trying to time a certification deadline or a hiring window, build that reporting lag into your planning rather than assuming same-day results.

Exam Format and Timing That Shape Your Score

The TExES 257 consists of 90 selected-response questions plus 1 constructed-response question, for 91 total items. Some administrations may also include unscored field-test items mixed in to gather data for future forms - these do not count toward your scaled score, but you won't know which items are which, so every question deserves full attention.

Your total appointment runs 5 hours: the first 15 minutes cover the CAT tutorial and the compliance agreement, followed by 4 hours and 45 minutes of actual testing time. That's a long single sitting, and pacing across 91 items - including a written response that deserves real planning time - is part of the strategic challenge. For a deeper look at how the format itself contributes to overall exam difficulty, read How Hard Is the TExES 257 Exam?

Domain Weights and Where the Points Live

Your 240 is assembled from performance across five domains, and they are not weighted equally. Understanding this distribution is the single most useful thing you can do before you start studying, because it tells you exactly where your raw points are concentrated.

Because Domain II carries roughly 30% weight and Domain V (the constructed response) carries 20%, these two areas together account for half of your overall score. A candidate who under-prepares either one is fighting an uphill battle regardless of how well they know the remaining three domains. If you want a domain-by-domain study sequence rather than a general overview, the TExES 257 Study Guide walks through prioritization in more detail.

What the Statewide Numbers Tell You

TEA's reported statewide pass rates for the 2024-2025 program year were 95% on the first attempt and 96% on the best attempt, based on a reporting group of 294 candidates. Those figures suggest that most candidates who complete an approved path to testing do clear the 240 cut score, but they don't tell you how much margin any individual candidate had above or below the line - some pass comfortably, others by a narrow point spread within that 72-plus-8 point structure.

What the pass-rate figures do confirm is that the exam is passable with methodical preparation focused on the actual domain weights rather than generic test-taking tricks. For more context on how these figures compare across attempt types, see the TExES 257 Pass Rate breakdown.

Registration, Fees, and Retake Rules That Affect Strategy

Scoring rules don't exist in isolation - the logistics around registration and retakes shape how you should approach hitting 240 in the first place.

• The exam fee is $136, with no separate member or non-member pricing tier.
• You must be approved to test either through an educator preparation program or directly by TEA before you can register.
• Registration stays valid for 170 days, and if you withdraw, you're refunded the exam fee minus a $25 processing fee.
• Candidates get five attempts total, with a mandatory 30-day wait between attempts; a TEA test-limit waiver is required to attempt beyond five.
• A first Texas classroom certificate also requires passing the PPR EC-12 (160) pedagogy exam alongside the 257.

The 30-day wait between attempts is worth planning around. If your first attempt narrowly misses 240 - say you cleared the selected-response cut but fell short on the constructed response, or vice versa - you have a defined window to target the specific weak area rather than re-studying everything from scratch. For the full fee and cost picture, including what happens after you pass, see TExES 257 Certification Cost.

Once you do pass, remember that Texas standard certificates are valid for five years and renew through ECOS with 150 CPE clock hours for classroom teachers - the 240 score is your entry point, not a one-time hurdle disconnected from ongoing licensure requirements.

A Study Timeline Built Around the Score Breakdown

Rather than studying all five domains equally, allocate your time in proportion to their weight and to how directly they feed the 240 cut score. A short, structured approach works better than an open-ended review schedule.

A brief spaced-repetition pass over flagged weak areas in the final days before your appointment can help lock in the details most likely to appear in Domain II scenarios, since that domain carries the most raw points of any single content area. Beyond content review, it's worth understanding the broader eligibility picture - the TExES 257 Requirements page covers who needs to test and when, and our main practice test hub offers additional domain-specific question sets to reinforce this timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions