• Elementary Grades 1- 5 Credit by Exam for Acceleration 

  • Qualifications for Testing

    Acceleration testing is for students in grades Kindergarten through Fourth who wish to skip a grade is addressed in Board Policy EHDC (Legal), under the heading of Credit by Examination for Advancement.

    Test windows are offered in July/August, December, January, and April/May for students already enrolled in Plano ISD.

    Students may take a Credit by Exam for acceleration purposes during any of the four testing periods. However, the following restrictions apply:

    • Placement to a new grade will only occur at the start of a school year, regardless of when a CBE acceleration is taken.
    • Students may attempt acceleration two times, one attempt per testing window for the same grade/subject.  

    About the Grades 1-5 Acceleration Test

    Students seeking grade-level acceleration/advancement must achieve 80% or higher on each of the criterion-referenced tests in the following subjects for the grade level they want to skip: 

    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • Mathematics
    • Language Arts

    Grades 1-5 Acceleration/Advancement tests are administered over multiple days.

    • Paper assessments are ordered from Texas Tech University (TTU) one at a time, and the subsequent assessment will only be ordered after the student passes with a score of 80% or higher.
      • *NOTE - Scoring can take up to 2 weeks following receipt of the exam by TTU.
    • Assessments are given following the order listed above and the time limit is 3 continuous hours per assessment.
    • If a student is successful with a score of 80% or higher, the next test in the sequence will be ordered.  
    • If the student is not successful, the grade acceleration process ends. The student is not eligible to accelerate.
    • To accelerate to the next grade level, the student is required to successfully pass all four assessments.

    NOTE - Students who qualify for or are currently enrolled in Math Rocks may still attempt grade level acceleration. However, successfully completing grade level acceleration may remove eligibility for Math Rocks. 

    Accelerate Out of
    First Grade

    Accelerate Out of
    Second Grade

    Accelerate Out of 
    Third Grade

    Accelerate Out of
    Fourth Grade 

    Accelerate Out of
    Fifth Grade 

     

    Results and Acceleration

    *NOTE →  Students may only change grade levels at the beginning of a school year.

    Results will be sent to the principal of the school where the student is registered. The principal will contact the parent/guardian directly regarding the student’s test scores. The Credit by Exam office will not give out any information regarding the results of Grades 1-5 Acceleration/Advancement testing.

    Deadline and Parent Information  

    Parents/ guardians must contact their elementary school counselor for information on the Grade 1-5 Acceleration process. The deadlines are listed in the calendar below. 

    • All requests must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the deadline date.
    • The counselor will notify the parent/guardian of the specific testing date and times. All tests will be administered at the student's home campus.   

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    Contact
    Assessment, Research and Program Evaluation
    If you have any additional questions, please email the Credit by Exam office at CBE@pisd.edu.