The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was a standardized test used in Texas between 1991 and 2002, when it was replaced by the TAKS test from 2003 to 2009. Prior to 1990, the test was known as the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills or TEAMS . It was used from grades 3 through 11. If the student passed, he or she no longer needed to take the exam. Passing the Grade 11 level was required for graduation, but many opportunities for retesting were available.
The TAAS tested 3 areas of proficiency: reading, writing, and math. The math and reading sections consisted of multiple choice, while the writing section consisted of a series of prompts for which essays had to be written.
In A Content Analysis of Exit Level Mathematics on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills: Addressing the Issue of Instructional Decision-Making in Texas Jere Confrey and David Carrejo criticized the TAAS.[1]