What Is A TExES 164?

What Is A TExES 164, Exactly?

TExES 164 is shorthand for the Bilingual Education Supplemental (164) exam, one of the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards used by the state to certify teachers. It is not a general teaching credential and it does not test subject-matter content like math or reading instruction on its own. Instead, it verifies that a candidate understands the theory, methodology, and assessment practices specific to teaching in a bilingual classroom - how students acquire two languages, how literacy transfers between them, and how content instruction should be delivered across both.

Because it's a supplemental certificate, TExES 164 is added on top of a base teaching certificate (such as Early Childhood or a content-area certificate). Anyone researching TExES 164 Certification or trying to pin down its exact scope should start with the same question this article answers: what does a passing score actually certify a teacher to do, and under what conditions?

Who Governs and Administers the Exam

The exam is governed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification. Day-to-day administration - scheduling, score reporting, test-center logistics - is handled by Pearson Evaluation Systems, which runs computer-administered testing sites both inside Texas and at approved locations nationwide. This matters for out-of-state candidates pursuing certification-by-exam or reciprocity routes, since they don't need to travel to Texas to sit for the test.

If you want the full eligibility picture - including educator preparation program approval and alternative qualifying routes - the dedicated breakdown at TExES 164 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify covers each pathway in detail.

Exam Format, Fees, and Registration Mechanics

TExES 164 consists of 80 selected-response questions administered within a 5-hour appointment window. Some administrations may include unscored field-test items mixed in with scored questions - you won't be able to tell which is which, so every question should be treated as if it counts.

The standard exam fee is $116. Under House Bill 2, signed June 4, 2025, eligible Bilingual Education certification candidates get their first attempt registration fee waived, along with the separate $78 certification application fee. This is a meaningful cost reduction for first-time test-takers, though it only applies to that initial attempt - subsequent retakes are paid at the standard rate. A full cost breakdown, including how the waiver interacts with retake fees and the paired BTLPT 190, is available at TExES 164 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

The Four Domains You'll Be Tested On

The official TEA framework organizes TExES 164 around a single overarching domain - Bilingual Education - weighted at 100% of the exam and mapped to Bilingual Education Standards II-VI. That single domain is subdivided into four competencies that function as the practical content areas candidates prepare for. Score reports break performance out by each of these, so weak spots are visible after the fact, not just as a pass/fail total.

For a competency-by-competency walkthrough with sample question framing, the companion guide at TExES 164 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas goes deeper than the summary above.

Who Actually Needs This Certification

TExES 164 is required for teachers seeking a Bilingual Education Supplemental credential in Texas - most commonly early childhood and elementary teachers assigned to bilingual or dual-language classrooms, though bilingual program structures vary by district. Since it's supplemental, candidates hold a base certificate first and add 164 to become eligible for bilingual-specific assignments and stipends many districts offer for bilingual-certified staff.

Districts hiring for these roles are typically looking for teachers who can deliver content instruction in both English and a partner language (most often Spanish) while managing literacy development across both. If you're weighing whether pursuing this credential lines up with your career goals, TExES 164 Jobs and Is the TExES 164 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 look at that question from the employment and compensation angle, respectively.

How 164 Fits Into the Bilingual Pathway - and Its Retirement

A detail candidates often miss: TExES 164 is not stand-alone. For Spanish bilingual certification, it must be paired with the BTLPT 190 (Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test). Passing 164 alone does not complete the bilingual supplemental certificate for Spanish - both scores are required for TEA to recommend or apply the certification.

There's also a hard deadline candidates need to plan around. TEA is phasing out this pathway in favor of a replacement exam:

• September 1, 2026 - the replacement, TExES 165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental, launches
• August 31, 2027 - last day to take 164 and 190
• September 1, 2028 - last day to apply for or be recommended for certification using 164 and 190 scores

The TExES 164 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling article lays out how to sequence your testing appointments against these deadlines, particularly if you also need to schedule the BTLPT 190.

Scoring, Passing Score, and What a Score Report Shows

TExES 164 uses a scaled score range of 100 to 300, with a required passing score of 240. Score reports show a total scaled score plus a breakdown by competency, so candidates who don't pass can see exactly which of the four content areas dragged their score down rather than guessing.

Because the passing threshold is fixed and the scale doesn't change based on how other candidates perform on a given date, understanding the number itself - and what it implies about how many questions you can miss - is worth doing separately. The dedicated explainer at TExES 164 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass works through that math.

Attempt Limits and What Happens If You Don't Pass

TEA caps candidates at five attempts on a certification exam, with a mandatory 30-day wait between attempts. If a candidate needs to test beyond that fifth attempt, a test-limit waiver from TEA is required before scheduling another appointment. Given the retirement timeline above, candidates who are close to their attempt limit should be especially deliberate about scheduling - a failed attempt close to August 31, 2027 leaves little room for a 30-day wait and a retake.

For anyone trying to gauge realistically how difficult the exam is likely to be for their own background, the difficulty-focused analysis at How Hard Is the TExES 164 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and the data review at TExES 164 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are useful starting points before you commit to a testing date.

Building a Domain-Aware Study Plan

Generic study advice doesn't account for the fact that TExES 164's four competencies aren't equally difficult for every candidate - someone with strong ESL classroom experience may already know Domain 2 cold but need more time on Domain 3's assessment terminology. Rather than a one-size week-by-week template, map your weeks to the competencies where your score-report risk is highest.

A more granular, day-by-day version of this approach - including how much time to allocate per competency based on how the exam weights them - is laid out in the TExES 164 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. For quick pre-exam review, the condensed TExES 164 Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is designed to be skimmed the night before your appointment. You can also build timed familiarity with the question format using full-length practice exams on our practice test platform before your scheduled date.

Frequently Asked Questions