The TSIA (Texas Success Initiative Assessment)

The TSI Assessment (TSIA) is the result of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) mandated by the Texas State Legislature. The assessment is designed to guide Texas public institutions of higher education in helping them determine whether students are ready for entry-level college coursework in the areas of English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) and mathematics. Students are exempt from this assessment if they meet college readiness benchmarks on the SAT, ACT, STAAR English III or Algebra II EOCs, or successfully complete the high school College Preparatory Course. Click here for a complete list of TSI exemptions. TSIA scores and exemptions are valid five years from the date an assessment was taken documenting benchmarks were met.

Students who do not meet a TSI exemption must take the TSI assessment before college enrollment. Students who do not meet one or more of the established TSI benchmarks are admitted, however, they are required to receive developmental education academic support as determined by the institution.

What are TSIA Benchmarks?

Students scoring at or above the benchmarks are considered “college ready” and eligible to enroll in any entry level college course (for example, English composition, history, government, or college algebra) without remediation. Some college level courses require passing scores in more than one area.

Below are the TSIA benchmarks that are valid 5 years from the date the benchmark was met.

TSI Initial assessment benchmarks: Assessments taken before 1/11/21.

TSIA2 revised assessment benchmarks: tests taken on or after 01/11/21:

A student shall be exempt from taking the TSIA if the student met the following benchmarks before 2/15/23:

A student shall be exempt from taking the TSIA if the student meets the following benchmarks on or after 2/15/23:

A student can access their TSIA scores with an account in the TSIA2 Student Portal.

Resources for TSIA2