TExES 118 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

The 2024-25 Pass Rate Numbers

If you're researching the TExES Social Studies 4-8 (118) exam, you've probably already searched for a pass rate figure to gauge how difficult it really is. The most recent statewide data available covers the 2024-25 testing year: 62% of the 815 candidates who attempted the exam passed on their best attempt. That's the number to anchor your expectations around - not a vague "most people pass" assurance, and not a scare-tactic statistic pulled from a different certification entirely.

A 62% pass rate means that just under two out of every five candidates did not clear the bar on their first or best attempt. That's a meaningful number. It's not a coin flip, but it's far from a formality either. For a deeper look at how this compares to candidate expectations going in, see our companion piece on how hard the TExES 118 exam really is.

What a 62% Pass Rate Actually Tells You

Pass rate statistics are easy to misread. A 62% figure doesn't tell you whether the exam is "hard" in an absolute sense - it tells you that preparation quality varies widely among the 815 people who sat for it that year. Some candidates walk in with strong content knowledge from a history or political science degree and simply need to shore up pedagogy questions. Others walk in with strong classroom instincts but shaky recall on geography or economics content they haven't touched since their own college coursework.

Because the passing score is a fixed scaled score of 240, there's no curve that adjusts based on how everyone else performs on a given day. Your score reflects your own mastery of the material relative to the test's difficulty calibration - not your ranking against other test takers. That's an important distinction: you're not competing against the other 815 candidates, you're competing against a fixed content standard.

For a full explanation of how the passing score is calculated and what it means in practice, read our breakdown of the TExES 118 passing score.

Where Candidates Lose Points: Domain Breakdown

The exam is built around two domains, and the weighting between them is lopsided in a way that directly explains most pass/fail outcomes:

For an item-by-item breakdown of what falls under each domain, our complete guide to all 2 content areas maps out specific competencies tested under each heading.

Exam Format and Scoring Mechanics

Understanding the pass rate also means understanding what the test session itself looks like, since format fatigue is a real factor in underperformance. The TExES 118 is a computer-administered test consisting of 100 selected-response questions, some of which may be unscored field-test items you can't identify during the test. Total appointment time is 5 hours, which includes a 15-minute tutorial and compliance agreement plus 4 hours 45 minutes of actual testing time.

That's a long sitting. Candidates who haven't practiced sustained focus across dozens of multi-part history and geography questions sometimes see accuracy drop in the final third of the test - not because they don't know the material, but because attention fatigue sets in. Building stamina during practice sessions, not just content knowledge, is part of preparing for this specific format.

For the full fee schedule and any additional costs tied to retakes or educator preparation program requirements, see our complete pricing breakdown.

Who Takes the TExES 118 and Why It Matters

Passing this exam is a gatekeeping step for a specific certification track: middle-grades social studies teaching in Texas public schools, typically grades 4 through 8. Registration for the exam normally requires approval through a Texas educator preparation program or another TEA-authorized route - you generally can't just walk up and register on your own without that approval in place first. If you're unclear on which pathway applies to you, our eligibility and prerequisites guide walks through the qualifying routes in detail.

Once you pass and complete certification, a Texas standard classroom-teacher certificate is valid for five years, with renewal requiring 150 continuing professional education hours. That five-year cycle is worth knowing about now, because it shapes how much weight this single test carries relative to your longer career trajectory. If you're weighing whether the entire certification pathway is worth pursuing given the time and cost involved, our analysis of whether the TExES 118 certification is worth it lays out the full picture.

How to Improve Your Odds Beyond the Statewide Average

A statewide pass rate is an average, not a prediction of your individual outcome. Candidates who outperform the average tend to share a few specific habits tied directly to this exam's structure:

• They study proportionally to domain weight. Since Social Studies Content is 71% of the test, they don't split study time 50/50 between content and pedagogy.
• They practice with the actual format. Selected-response questions covering broad historical and geographic content reward pattern recognition built through repeated exposure to test-style questions, not passive review of textbooks.
• They simulate the time constraint. Given the 4-hour-45-minute testing window, doing untimed review only gets you partway there - full-length timed practice matters.
• They target their weakest content era or region first. Most candidates have an uneven foundation across U.S. history, world history, geography, government, and economics; identifying the weakest strand early prevents last-minute surprises.

A structured approach to this - including which resources map most directly onto the exam's actual competencies - is covered in our study guide for passing on your first attempt. You can also use our practice test platform to get a realistic read on where you currently stand relative to the 240 passing threshold before you commit to a testing date.

A Domain-Weighted Prep Timeline

Because the domain split is so uneven (71% versus 29%), a generic "study everything equally" calendar wastes time. Here's a domain-weighted structure that reflects the actual exam composition:

Notice that four of the six weeks are dedicated to Domain 1 content areas, with only one full week on Domain 2 - a ratio that roughly tracks the 71/29 split. For the exact competency statements behind each week's focus, cross-reference the exam domains guide, and keep a running one-page summary using our one-page review of must-know facts for quick recall in the final days before your test.

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