What Does TExES 238 Stand For?

Breaking Down the Name: What "TExES 238" Actually Means

The letters stand for Texas Examinations of Educator Standards. The number "238" is simply the assigned test code within that system, and this particular code corresponds to Life Science 7-12 - a content-area certification exam for teachers who want to teach biology, environmental science, and related life science courses to Texas students in grades 7 through 12. Put together, "TExES 238" is shorthand for "the Texas licensure exam that certifies secondary life science teachers."

This distinction matters because the acronym "TExES" covers dozens of different exams, each identified by its own three-digit code, and other unrelated certifications elsewhere use similarly formatted numbers. If you searched broadly and found information about testing fees, scoring scales, or pass rates that didn't match what you expected, you may have been looking at the wrong credential. This site, and this article, are strictly about the Texas Education Agency's Life Science 7-12 (238) exam - nothing else.

Who Governs and Administers the Exam

TExES 238 is governed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in partnership with the State Board for Educator Certification. Those bodies set the standards, competencies, and passing requirements. The actual test delivery is handled by Pearson (Evaluation Systems), which administers TExES 238 as a computer-administered test (CAT) at Pearson VUE testing centers throughout Texas and nationwide, by appointment, year round.

This governance structure is important for a simple reason: TEA decides what the exam covers and what score counts as passing, while Pearson controls scheduling, test-day logistics, and score reporting. If you're trying to understand deadlines or windows for sitting the exam, the details live with Pearson's scheduling system, which is covered in depth in the TExES 238 Exam Dates 2026 guide.

What TExES 238 Actually Tests

The exam is built on the 2019 Life Science 7-12 exam framework, which organizes content into 20 competencies across six domains, aligned to the Life Science 7-12 Standards I-XI and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Every question on the test traces back to one of these six domains:

Notice that three domains - Cell Structure and Processes, Heredity and Evolution of Life, and Diversity of Life - each carry 20% weight, meaning roughly 60 of the 100 questions come from those three content areas alone. That concentration should shape how you allocate study time far more than the domain list alone suggests. For a full breakdown of every competency statement within each domain, see the TExES 238 Exam Domains 2026 guide.

Format, Timing, and Registration Mechanics

TExES 238 consists of 100 selected-response questions. Some of these are unscored field-test items used by TEA to evaluate future questions - you won't know which ones they are, so every question should be treated as if it counts. Only the scored items contribute to your final score on the 100-300 scale, and you need a 240 to pass.

Your total appointment runs 5 hours: 15 minutes for the CAT tutorial and compliance agreement, plus 4 hours 45 minutes of actual testing time. No calculator or reference sheet is provided, so any calculations - genetics ratios, dosage-response style problems, or basic ecological math - must be worked out by hand.

Registration mechanics matter as much as content knowledge:

• The exam fee is $116, with no separate member or non-member pricing tiers.
• You must be approved to test by an educator preparation program (EPP) or by TEA directly before you can register.
• Registration stays valid for 170 days.
• Withdrawing before your appointment refunds the exam fee minus a $25 processing charge.
• You get five attempts total, with a mandatory 30-day wait between attempts; beyond five attempts you need a TEA test-limit waiver.
• Scores post at 10:00 p.m. Central on the published score report date.

A full walkthrough of every dollar you'll spend across preparation, application, and certification appears in the TExES 238 Certification Cost 2026 breakdown, and the exact scoring mechanics are explained further in the TExES 238 Passing Score 2026 guide.

Why the Number "238" Matters for Your Prep

Because the "238" code is unique to Life Science 7-12, every fact tied to that number - the fee, the domain weights, the passing score, the pass rate - applies only to this exam. TEA's statewide data for the 2024-2025 program year showed a 47% first-attempt pass rate and a 56% best-attempt pass rate (N=554) for this exam, which was the lowest among the major secondary science content certifications that year. That single data point is a strong argument for treating TExES 238 prep seriously rather than assuming general science knowledge will carry you through.

If you want the full context behind those numbers - how they compare across recent years and what factors might explain them - the TExES 238 Pass Rate 2026 analysis unpacks the data. And if you're still deciding how much difficulty to expect on test day, the How Hard Is the TExES 238 Exam? guide walks through the content depth question by question.

Who Needs This Certification

TExES 238 is the required content certification for anyone seeking to teach life science, biology, or related courses in Texas public middle and high schools (grades 7-12). Passing it alone doesn't grant a Texas teaching certificate - a first classroom certificate also requires passing the PPR EC-12 (160) pedagogy exam, which tests general teaching practices rather than science content.

School districts, charter networks, and some private academic programs across Texas hire secondary science teachers who hold this credential specifically because it's the state-mandated proof of subject-matter competency in life science. Once certified, the standard Texas certificate is valid for five years and renews through ECOS with 150 CPE clock hours for classroom teachers. For a look at where certified life science teachers actually work and how demand breaks down, see TExES 238 Jobs and the earnings context in the TExES 238 Salary Guide 2026.

Not sure you meet the eligibility bar yet, or want to confirm your EPP enrollment status before registering? The TExES 238 Requirements 2026 guide covers exactly what TEA and EPPs require before you're approved to test.

Turning the Name Into a Study Plan

Understanding what TExES 238 stands for is only useful if it changes how you prepare. Since the name tells you this is a Texas-specific, TEKS-aligned content exam - not a general biology license - your study plan should mirror the domain weights rather than a generic biology textbook's table of contents.

A practical way to sequence prep: spend early weeks on the three 20%-weighted domains (Cell Structure and Processes, Heredity and Evolution of Life, Diversity of Life) since together they represent roughly 60% of the scored questions. Reserve later weeks for Scientific Inquiry and Processes and Interdependence of Life and Environmental Systems (each 15%), then finish with Science Learning, Instruction and Assessment (10%), which tests pedagogy rather than science content and typically requires less raw memorization.

For a week-by-week plan with more detail and specific competency checklists, the TExES 238 Study Guide 2026 expands on this sequencing. And if you want a condensed version of every must-know fact for last-minute review, the TExES 238 Cheat Sheet 2026 is built for that purpose. You can also start working through domain-aligned questions right now at the main practice test hub, where practice sets mirror the actual six-domain structure rather than generic biology trivia.

Frequently Asked Questions