Texas TEKS Computer Science Compared With CSTA 2026: What Changed From 2017

ByMatt

Texas TEKS Computer Science Compared With CSTA 2026: What Changed From 2017

CSTA published a revised PK-12 computer science standards document in 2026, with new codes and a reorganized set of concepts. I compared all 297 Texas TEKS Computer Science and Technology Applications points, from Kindergarten through Grade 8 and the high school Fundamentals of Computer Science course, with the new edition. My earlier Texas comparison used the 2017 standards. This post covers what changed.

The Headline Number

Against the 2017 CSTA standards, 83 of the 297 TEKS points (28%) were a strong match: the same skill at the same grade level. Against the 2026 edition, 60 are (20%).

Fit with the 2026 edition TEKS points
Strong match 60
Partial match 105
Match at a different level 7
No 2026 equivalent 125

The drop is small compared with Oklahoma’s, where 189 of 225 standards were a strong match against 2017 and 52 are against 2026 (that comparison is here). Oklahoma’s standards were adopted from the 2017 structure, so they matched it closely and had more to lose. Texas wrote independent standards, so it started lower and moved less.

Where the Strong Matches Are

Of the 60 strong matches, 25 land on the 2026 Programming concept, 18 on Systems, 11 on Data, 4 on Algorithms, and 2 on Impacts of Computing.

  • Variables: the Texas variable standards in Grades 2 through 8 match the 2026 variable standards at every grade.
  • Debugging and testing: the debugging standards in Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 match the 2026 testing and refinement standards, and so does Fundamentals of Computer Science.
  • Cybersecurity basics: keeping information private and protecting an account match in Kindergarten and Grade 1, and recognizing threats matches in Grades 4 through 8.
  • Data: reading graphs and drawing conclusions in Grades 3 through 7 match the 2026 data-analysis standards.

Grade 5 has the most strong matches of any course (8 of 29). Grade 2 has the fewest (4 of 23).

Where the Match Thins Out

  • Practical technology skills have no 2026 equivalent at any grade. Keyboarding, keyboard shortcuts, file naming and saving, choosing the right app, and word-processing features are not in the 2026 standards. This is the largest group among the 125 Texas points with no equivalent.
  • Copyright and citation moved. The 2017 edition addressed it only in Grades 3 through 5. The 2026 edition addresses attribution and intellectual property in middle school and high school, so most of the Grade 6 through 8 copyright and citation standards are now strong matches, while the elementary ones have no equivalent.
  • Design-process and search-strategy standards have no 2026 counterpart in most grades.
  • 125 Texas points have no 2026 equivalent at all. That says nothing about their value. It means the 2026 edition does not address the topic at that level.

Fundamentals of Computer Science

7 of the 39 Fundamentals points are strong matches to the 2026 high school band: algorithm design, testing, citing sources, security measures, the effects of computing on society, and the two operating-system standards. The career-readiness content (resumes, interviews, comparing university programs) still sits outside any computer science standards document.

What to Do With This

  • If your documents cite CSTA 2017 codes, keep them. They are still correct for the 2017 edition.
  • Where a strong 2026 match exists, add the 2026 code next to the 2017 one. The updated crosswalks and my Texas product listings now do this.
  • Treat “partial” as a prompt to read both standards, not as a match.
  • Keep teaching the practical technology skills. They are required by the TEKS whether or not CSTA lists them.

How the Comparison Was Done

Each TEKS point was compared one by one with the 2026 standards at the matching level (Kindergarten with the Kindergarten band, middle school with the middle school band, Fundamentals with the high school band). A match is “strong” only when both cover the same skill at the same level. The ratings are my judgment, and a different reviewer may rate some rows differently. Codes are cited as identifiers only.

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This is an independently produced correlation guide. CSTA standard codes are cited as identifiers only; the guide does not reproduce CSTA’s standard text (CSTA K-12 and PK-12 standards are licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Not endorsed by CSTA, OSDE, or TEA.

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