The Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.023, allows students in primary grades to accelerate a grade level and students in secondary academic courses to earn credit for a course on the basis credit by examination. Credit-by-examination assessments (CBEs) must be approved by each local board of trustees.
Kindergarten - Grade 5
A student in grades K - 5 must be accelerated one grade if the student scores 80% or higher on each CBE including language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies for the grade level the student wishes to advance past. Additionally, in order to qualify for acceleration, the student must be recommended, and the student’s parent or guardian must give written permission.
Districts must develop procedures to be approved by the local board of trustees for kindergarten acceleration.
Grades 6 - 12
A student in grades 6-12 may be awarded credit based on performance on a CBE taken either with no prior instruction or with prior instruction. Students may not attempt to earn credit by exam for the same high school subject more than two times.
No Prior Instruction
Students who have had no prior instruction must be awarded credit for the applicable course if the student receives one of the following scores on a CBE approved by the local board of trustees:
- Three or higher on an AP exam
- A scaled score of 50 or higher on a CLEP exam
- 80% or higher on any other locally approved exam
If a student fails to earn credit by exam for a high school course before the beginning of the school year when the student would normally be expected to enroll in that course according to the district’s schedule, the student must satisfactorily complete the course in order to earn credit.
Prior Instruction
Students who have had prior instruction in a course may be awarded credit for the applicable course if the student scores 70% or higher on a CBE approved by the local board of trustees. Prior instruction is determined by the local school district.
Resources
TEC, §28.023: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/htm/ED.28.htm#28.023
TAC, §74.24, Credit by Examination: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074c.html#74.24
Texas Tech University ISD: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/ttuisd/cbe.php
The University of Texas at Austin High School: https://highschool.utexas.edu/credit_by_exam.php