- The Official TEA Pass Rate Numbers for TExES 115
- What a 57% First-Attempt Rate Actually Means for You
- Where Candidates Lose Points: Domain-by-Domain Risk
- How the Exam Format Itself Affects Outcomes
- Retake Rules, Waiting Periods, and the Cost of Failing
- Closing the Gap Between First-Attempt and Best-Attempt Rates
- Frequently Asked Questions
- TEA reported a 57% first-attempt pass rate and 64% best-attempt rate for 2024-2025 (N=1,034).
- Passing requires a scaled score of 240 out of a 100-300 range, based on scored items only.
- Patterns and Algebra and Geometry and Measurement each carry 21% weight - roughly 42 of 100 questions.
- Failed attempts require a 30-day wait, and candidates get five attempts before needing a TEA waiver.
The Official TEA Pass Rate Numbers for TExES 115
For the 2024-2025 program year, the Texas Education Agency reported a 57% first-attempt pass rate and a 64% best-attempt pass rate for TExES Mathematics 4-8 (115), based on a cohort of 1,034 test-takers. Those two figures matter for different reasons. The first-attempt number tells you how candidates perform walking in cold, on their first appointment, without the benefit of having seen the exam's real question style before. The best-attempt number folds in everyone who eventually passed on a second, third, or later try, showing that persistence and retake preparation close a meaningful portion of the gap.
Neither number is disclosed with a margin of error or a breakdown by preparation type, so it's worth being precise about what these statistics can and cannot tell an individual candidate. They describe a statewide cohort of nearly a thousand test-takers, not any one person's odds. Your background - prior coursework in algebra, geometry, and statistics, plus classroom or tutoring experience with grades 4-8 content - will move your personal likelihood of passing above or below that baseline in either direction.
What a 57% First-Attempt Rate Actually Means for You
A pass rate just above half signals that TExES 115 is not a rubber-stamp certification exam. The test is built from a 2021 framework defining 19 competencies across six domains, and it's scored against a fixed passing threshold of 240 on a 100-300 scale - not a curve that adjusts to how the room performs. If you want the specific numeric breakdown of what a 240 requires in terms of correct scored items, see the TExES 115 Passing Score guide for a full explanation.
Because the exam draws from grades 4-8 mathematics content across six weighted domains, a candidate who is comfortable with, say, fractions and number sense but rusty on transformational geometry or systems of equations can still fall short of 240 even while feeling generally prepared. The pass rate reflects that reality: broad familiarity with middle-school math is not the same as mastery of every competency the framework tests.
Key Takeaway
Treat the 57% first-attempt rate as a signal to prepare domain-by-domain rather than reviewing math broadly. Uneven coverage across the six domains is the most common reason otherwise-competent candidates land under 240.
Where Candidates Lose Points: Domain-by-Domain Risk
TExES 115 is organized into six domains, and two of them - Patterns and Algebra and Geometry and Measurement - each carry 21% weight, together accounting for roughly 42 of the 100 scored and field-test questions combined. That concentration means weakness in either domain has an outsized effect on your final scaled score. The TExES 115 Exam Domains Guide breaks down all 19 competencies in detail, but here's how the risk stacks up at a glance.
Domain 2: Patterns and Algebra (21%)
Covers patterns and sequences, linear and nonlinear functions, systems of equations, and the middle-school groundwork that leads toward calculus concepts later.
- Candidates often underestimate how deeply nonlinear functions and systems are tested at this level.
Domain 3: Geometry and Measurement (21%)
Covers measurement as a process, Euclidean relationships and proof, properties of two- and three-dimensional figures, and transformational/coordinate geometry.
- Proof-based reasoning items trip up candidates who studied formulas but not justification.
Domain 1: Number Concepts (16%) & Domain 4: Probability and Statistics (16%)
Each domain is weighted equally and together represents nearly a third of the exam. Number Concepts spans place value through rational number operations; Probability and Statistics covers data interpretation, variability, and chance.
- Both domains are frequently under-reviewed because they feel "easier" than algebra or geometry.
Domain 5: Mathematical Processes and Perspectives (10%) & Domain 6: Mathematical Learning, Instruction and Assessment (16%)
These domains test how you reason about mathematics and how you'd teach and assess it - not just whether you can compute an answer.
- Pedagogical-reasoning items require thinking like an instructor evaluating student work, not just solving the problem yourself.
A candidate can score well on straightforward computation and still miss the 240 cutoff if Domain 6's instructional-reasoning items or Domain 5's process-based items are unfamiliar territory. This is a large part of why the pass rate sits where it does rather than higher: the exam tests how you think about teaching math, not only whether you can do the math.
How the Exam Format Itself Affects Outcomes
TExES 115 is delivered as a computer-administered test at Pearson VUE centers, with a total appointment of 5 hours - 15 minutes for the tutorial and compliance agreement, plus 4 hours 45 minutes of actual testing across 100 selected-response questions. Some of those 100 items are unscored field-test questions, meaning you cannot tell during the exam which ones count toward your final score. That ambiguity is itself a factor in performance: candidates who try to "save energy" by skimming items they assume are unscored risk skimming a scored item by mistake.
Personal calculators are prohibited for this test code. You're given an on-screen scientific calculator along with a Definitions and Formulas reference page built into the testing interface. Candidates who haven't practiced with an on-screen calculator interface beforehand sometimes lose time fumbling with an unfamiliar tool during a high-stakes, timed session - a small but real drag on pacing across nearly five hours of testing.
For a broader look at how exam difficulty compares to other certification tests and what makes this one distinct, the How Hard Is the TExES 115 Exam? guide walks through the difficulty factors in more depth.
Retake Rules, Waiting Periods, and the Cost of Failing
The gap between the 57% first-attempt rate and 64% best-attempt rate exists because Texas allows retakes - but not without cost and delay. Candidates get five attempts total, with a mandatory 30-day wait between attempts, and anyone needing a sixth try must request a test-limit waiver from TEA. Each attempt carries the same $116 exam fee, with no reduced rate for retesting. If you withdraw a registration, you're refunded the fee minus a $25 processing charge - so even changing your mind isn't free.
Registration itself stays valid for 170 days, and scores post at 10:00 p.m. Central on the scheduled score report date, not immediately after you finish testing. That means a failed attempt doesn't just cost the retake fee; it costs weeks of calendar time between the wait period, rescheduling, and the reporting delay - time that can matter if you're on a hiring or certification deadline. The TExES 115 Exam Dates guide covers how to plan appointments around those windows, and the TExES 115 Certification Cost breakdown details the full fee picture including what a retake actually adds up to.
Key Takeaway
A 30-day mandatory wait plus a full $116 fee per attempt makes "just retake it" a costlier fallback than most candidates expect. Front-loading domain-specific prep before the first attempt is cheaper than recovering from a miss.
Closing the Gap Between First-Attempt and Best-Attempt Rates
If the statewide data shows roughly 4 in 10 first-time candidates falling short of 240, the practical question is how to land on the winning side of that split rather than needing a second attempt. Since Patterns and Algebra and Geometry and Measurement together make up 42% of the exam, allocating your limited study time in proportion to domain weight - rather than spending equal hours on all six domains - is the single highest-leverage adjustment most candidates can make.
Heaviest Domains First
- Work through Patterns and Algebra (21%) and Geometry and Measurement (21%) since they combine for nearly half the exam
- Practice proof-based geometry reasoning, not just formula recall
Number Concepts and Data
- Cover Number Concepts (16%) and Probability and Statistics (16%), which together add another third of the exam
- Drill rational number operations and data-interpretation item types
Process and Pedagogy Domains
- Study Mathematical Processes and Perspectives (10%) and Mathematical Learning, Instruction and Assessment (16%)
- Practice full-length timed sets to adjust to the 4 hour 45 minute testing window and the on-screen calculator
A full week-by-week walkthrough with specific competency checklists is available in the TExES 115 Study Guide, and a condensed reference for last-minute review is in the TExES 115 Cheat Sheet. Running full-length timed practice sets on our practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to simulate the actual pacing and item mix before appointment day, since the real exam gives you no indicator of which items are field-test versus scored.
| Metric | 2024-2025 Value |
|---|---|
| First-attempt pass rate | 57% |
| Best-attempt pass rate | 64% |
| Cohort size (N) | 1,034 |
| Passing score | 240 (scale of 100-300) |
| Retake wait period | 30 days |
| Maximum attempts before waiver | 5 |
None of these numbers guarantee an individual outcome, but together they describe a test where domain-weighted preparation and honest self-assessment of weak areas - rather than generic "review everything" studying - appear to be what separates first-attempt passers from candidates who need a second try. If you're still confirming eligibility before you even register, the TExES 115 Requirements guide covers educator preparation program approval and the accompanying PPR EC-12 (160) pedagogy exam requirement for a first Texas classroom certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
TEA reported a 57% first-attempt pass rate and a 64% best-attempt pass rate for the 2024-2025 program year, based on a cohort of 1,034 candidates.
TEA's published statistic is a single overall pass rate, not broken down by domain. However, since Patterns and Algebra and Geometry and Measurement each make up 21% of the 100 questions, weakness in either domain has an outsized effect on your total scaled score relative to lighter-weighted domains.
You must wait 30 days between attempts, and you're allowed up to five total attempts before needing a TEA test-limit waiver. Each attempt requires the full $116 exam fee.
Yes. The passing score is fixed at 240 on a 100-300 scale and is based only on scored items - the unscored field-test questions mixed into the 100 total items don't count toward this figure.
It means the exam holds candidates to a fixed, non-curved standard across six weighted domains rather than a soft benchmark. For a deeper look at difficulty factors beyond the raw pass rate, see the TExES 115 difficulty guide.