- What TExES 164 Actually Is
- Who Governs and Administers the Exam
- Exam Format and Question Style
- The Four Domains You Need to Know
- Fees, Waivers, and Registration Mechanics
- Eligibility and Attempt Limits
- The Retirement Timeline for 164
- Preparing for the Content, Not Just the Test
- Who Hires Bilingual-Certified Teachers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- TExES 164 is a supplemental Bilingual Education exam, not a stand-alone certification.
- The exam has 80 selected-response questions over 5 hours and one domain weighted 100%.
- Passing score is 240 on a 100-300 scale; five attempts are allowed with a 30-day wait between tries.
- House Bill 2 waives the $116 registration fee and $78 application fee for eligible first-time candidates.
What TExES 164 Actually Is
TExES Bilingual Education Supplemental (164) is a certification exam used in Texas to verify that a teacher candidate has the pedagogical knowledge to serve bilingual and emergent bilingual students. It is not a general teaching credential. It is a supplemental exam, meaning it adds a bilingual education endorsement onto a base teaching certificate rather than standing on its own. For Spanish-language service, TEA requires it to be paired with the BTLPT (190), which measures Spanish language proficiency separately from bilingual pedagogy.
If you are just starting to research this credential, the companion piece TExES 164 Certification walks through how the supplemental designation fits into the broader Texas certification structure, and TExES 164 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify covers exactly who is allowed to register.
Who Governs and Administers the Exam
TExES 164 is governed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification. Pearson Evaluation Systems administers the exam at computer-based testing sites located throughout Texas and at select sites nationwide. This structure matters for scheduling: because seats are managed through Pearson's testing network rather than a single statewide date, candidates typically have more flexibility choosing a testing window than they would with a paper-based exam cycle. For a breakdown of how to plan around available windows, see TExES 164 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Exam Format and Question Style
The exam consists of 80 selected-response questions, and candidates receive a 5-hour appointment window to complete it. Some administrations may include unscored field-test items mixed in with scored questions, which is standard practice for maintaining item quality across future test forms - candidates cannot identify which questions are field-tested, so every item should be treated as if it counts.
Because the entire exam sits under a single domain - Bilingual Education, weighted at 100% - there is no separate scoring split across unrelated subject areas the way some other certification exams work. Instead, your score report breaks performance down by competency within that one domain, which is why understanding the internal structure of the framework matters more here than on multi-domain exams.
Key Takeaway
Because 164 is a single-domain exam, every competency area feeds into the same overall score. Weakness in one competency can drag down your total performance even if you're strong elsewhere - there's no averaging across unrelated domains to hide behind.
The Four Domains You Need to Know
The official framework organizes the content around Bilingual Education Standards II through VI, subdivided into four competencies that function as the practical domains candidates study. A full walkthrough of each lives in TExES 164 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas, but here is the shape of each one.
Domain 1: Foundations of Bilingual Education, Bilingualism and the Learning Environment
Covers the theoretical and legal foundations of bilingual education in Texas, models of bilingual programming, and how to build a classroom environment that supports bilingual and biliterate development.
- Program models (e.g., transitional, dual language, developmental) and their goals
- Legal and policy foundations shaping bilingual education in Texas
- Creating a linguistically and culturally supportive classroom environment
Domain 2: First-Language and Second-Language Acquisition and Development
Focuses on how students acquire and develop language, both their first language (L1) and second language (L2), including the stages and influencing factors of that process.
- Theories and stages of first- and second-language acquisition
- Sociocultural, cognitive, and affective factors influencing language development
- How L1 proficiency supports or interacts with L2 development
Domain 3: Development and Assessment of L1 Literacy and Biliteracy
Deals with how literacy develops in a student's first language and how that literacy transfers into biliteracy, plus how to assess literacy growth appropriately.
- Stages of L1 literacy development and cross-linguistic transfer
- Formal and informal assessment strategies for biliteracy
- Using assessment data to guide biliteracy instruction
Domain 4: Content-Area Instruction in L1 and L2
Addresses how to deliver academic content instruction - math, science, social studies, and beyond - in both a student's first and second language while maintaining rigor.
- Instructional strategies for teaching content in L1 and L2
- Scaffolding academic language while preserving content rigor
- Integrating language objectives alongside content objectives
Because all four domains roll into one overall score, candidates often benefit from mapping out which competencies feel weakest before building a study plan. The TExES 164 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt goes deeper into sequencing your review around these four areas.
Fees, Waivers, and Registration Mechanics
The standard registration fee for TExES 164 is $116. Under House Bill 2, signed June 4, 2025, eligible Bilingual Education certification candidates can have the registration fee waived for their first attempt at exam 164, along with the separate $78 certification application fee. This is a meaningful reduction in upfront cost for first-time test takers who qualify, though the waiver applies specifically to the first attempt - subsequent retakes are billed at the standard fee.
For a full cost breakdown including how the fee waiver interacts with other certification expenses, see TExES 164 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Registration fee | $116 (waived for eligible first attempts under HB 2) |
| Certification application fee | $78 (also waived for eligible candidates) |
| Question count | 80 selected-response questions |
| Appointment time | 5 hours |
| Passing score | 240 on a 100-300 scale |
| Attempt limit | 5 attempts, 30-day wait between attempts |
Eligibility and Attempt Limits
To sit for TExES 164, a candidate typically needs approval to test from an educator preparation program, or must qualify through an out-of-state, charter, or certification-by-exam route. TEA caps candidates at five attempts on a certification exam, with a mandatory 30-day wait between each attempt. If someone needs to test beyond that five-attempt limit, a test-limit waiver from TEA is required before scheduling again.
The passing score is 240 on a 100-300 scaled range. If you want a precise explanation of how that scaled score relates to raw performance across the 80 questions, TExES 164 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass breaks it down further, and TExES 164 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify covers the different approval pathways in detail.
The Retirement Timeline for 164
TEA is phasing out this pathway. The replacement exam, TExES 165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental, launches September 1, 2026. August 31, 2027 is the last date candidates can sit for 164 or the BTLPT (190), and September 1, 2028 is the last day programs can apply for certification or recommend candidates using 164 and 190 scores.
This timeline matters for anyone currently weighing whether to pursue 164 versus waiting for 165. Candidates already in an educator preparation program with 164 approval, or those close to finishing coursework, generally have a narrowing but still workable window. Anyone earlier in their timeline should factor the September 2026 launch of 165 into their planning rather than assuming 164 will remain available indefinitely.
Key Takeaway
If your certification timeline extends past August 31, 2027, confirm with your educator preparation program whether you should target 164 now or plan for TExES 165 instead.
Preparing for the Content, Not Just the Test
Generic study advice - spaced repetition, timed practice blocks, breaking sessions into focused intervals - can help with retention, but it only pays off when it's applied to the actual competencies tested on 164. A more useful approach is sequencing review around the four domains based on where a candidate's coursework was weakest.
Domain 1 Foundations
- Review bilingual program models and the legal basis for bilingual education in Texas
- Study how classroom environment choices support biliteracy goals
Domain 2 Language Acquisition
- Work through stages of L1 and L2 acquisition and the factors that shape them
- Practice distinguishing acquisition theories from instructional application
Domain 3 Literacy and Biliteracy Assessment
- Study cross-linguistic transfer and formal/informal biliteracy assessment tools
- Practice interpreting sample assessment data
Domain 4 Content-Area Instruction
- Review scaffolding strategies for teaching content in L1 and L2
- Take full-length practice sets to simulate the 5-hour, 80-question format
For a more detailed week-by-week plan and guidance on how difficult candidates typically find each domain, see How Hard Is the TExES 164 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and the condensed TExES 164 Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts for final review. Practicing under realistic timed conditions on our practice test platform before test day can also help you gauge pacing across the full 5-hour appointment.
Who Hires Bilingual-Certified Teachers
Because this is a supplemental certification layered onto a base teaching certificate, it's typically pursued by candidates already on a path to classroom teaching who want to serve bilingual and emergent bilingual student populations - commonly in dual-language, transitional bilingual, or developmental bilingual program settings within Texas school districts. Districts with growing bilingual and English learner populations are the most common employers seeking this credential.
If you're weighing whether the time and testing investment is worthwhile for your career path, Is the TExES 164 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and TExES 164 Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis go into more depth, and TExES 164 Jobs covers the kinds of roles this credential typically supports.
For readers who arrived here wanting the short version of related definitional questions, see TExES 164 Meaning, What Does TExES 164 Stand For?, What Is A TExES 164?, What Does TExES 164 Mean?, and What Is TExES 164 Certification?. If you're comparing prep resources, TExES 164 Training outlines what structured preparation typically involves, and you can start practicing directly on our TExES 164 practice test site or review current data in TExES 164 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. TExES 164 is a supplemental certification that must be added to an approved base teaching certificate. For Spanish bilingual service, it is paired with the BTLPT (190).
The exam includes 80 selected-response questions, and candidates are given a 5-hour appointment window to complete the test, which may include unscored field-test items.
You need a scaled score of 240 out of a 100-300 range. Your score report also shows performance broken down by competency within the single Bilingual Education domain.
Not necessarily. Under House Bill 2, eligible Bilingual Education certification candidates can have the $116 registration fee and the $78 certification application fee waived for their first attempt.
TExES 165 launches September 1, 2026 as the replacement. August 31, 2027 is the last day to take 164 or the BTLPT (190), and September 1, 2028 is the last day programs can apply or recommend candidates using 164 and 190 scores.