The teaching curriculum for each of the four general knowledge domains - English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies - is subdivided into knowledge categories known as "strands."

When clustered in a purposeful way, learning objectives tend to correspond into specific skill areas which, at the more advanced grade levels, often are taught as courses. For example, in mathematics, TEKS specifies 10 learning objectives which, in turn, can be grouped to correspond to three subject categories:

Patterns, Relations & Algebra -- corresponding to Objectives 1 through 5;

Geometry & Measurement -- corresponding to Objectives 6 through 8; and

Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability -- corresponding to Objectives 9 and 10.

The first two subject categories are often taught as two year-long high school courses, Algebra and Geometry. However, concepts related to these topics in mathematics are introduced throughout the Texas public school curriculum. The learning objectives remain consistent across grade levels; only the complexity of the material changes. Consequently, educators often refer to logically grouped learning objectives as "strands."

Each TAKS test is designed to assess student competence not only for the overall knowledge domain, but also for each learning objective. In this way, areas of knowledge strength and weakness within the domain are identified to help the student achieve mastery over the entire subject area.