Tech Apps TEKS Changes for 2024-25 School Year

In 2022, the State Board of Education (SBOE) gave final approval to the revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS ) for Technology Applications, sometimes referred to as “Tech Apps.” The revisions will be implemented beginning with the 2024-25 school year. This is the same year the new Science TEKS will be implemented. The revised Technology Applications TEKS are included in Proclamation 2024.

The six topic strands from the 2011 Technology Applications TEKS will be reduced to five strands in the new standards. Communication and collaboration, previously a stand-alone strand, is now embedded across all the strands.

The Current Strands

The current six strands are:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Communication and Collaboration
• Research and Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Digital Citizenship
• Technology Operations and Concepts

Under the revisions, substrands have been added to organize the knowledge and skills further.

The five strands from the 2022 standards and their new substrands are shown below.

Taking a Closer Look at Technology Applications TEKS

The K-8 Technology Applications TEKS include major changes. Some of the overarching changes include:

• TEKS for each grade level
• Use of strands and substrands as organizing principles
• Reorganization of content across the strands: Computational thinking (new), Creativity and innovation, Data literacy, management, and representation (new), Digital citizenshipPractical technology concepts
• New TEKS or revised TEKS for new strands and grade-level structure
• Integration of communications and collaboration throughout the TEKS
• Strands connect to everyday life and to solving problems
• Progression from language students are familiar with to technology terminology
• The use of “with assistance.”
• The use of “with or without technology.”
• Terminology with simpler wording
• Broad descriptions of technology to allow for emerging technology

Impact of TEKS Changes

Schools are required to teach Technology Applications TEKS as part of the required enrichment curriculum in elementary and middle school (K-8). Districts have the flexibility to offer the Technology Applications TEKS in a variety of settings and instructional arrangements, including as a stand-alone course or integrated into other courses or subject areas...??

To continue reading more about the impact of Technology Applications TEKS, jump to our Region 13 blog.