Credit by Exam

A1. Students in grades 1-12 are provided with four testing windows or CBE Quarters throughout the year.  

Credit by Exam Calendars with Application and Testing Windows are listed by grade-level on the following webpages: 

• Elementary Grades 1- 5 Credit by Exam Acceleration

• Middle School Grades 6-8 Credit by Exam

• High School & Senior High School Grades 9-12 Credit by Exam 

Please contact your campus counselor to determine which Test Window your student is eligible.

09/15/2022

A2. Kindergarten acceleration is administered once per year.  The Registration Deadline and Testing Window are posted on the following webpage /Page/1329

To qualify for Kindergarten Acceleration, the student must meet both of the following qualifications:

• The student must be five years of age on or before September 1 of the current school year per Plano ISD Board policy FD(LOCAL). 
• The student must be registered for Kindergarten in Plano ISD.

09/15/2022

A3. All Credit by Exam applications must be made through the campus counselor.  Registration requests may be accepted at any time during the year, but must meet the application deadlines established for each testing session. 

• Students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 must contact their school counselor to request grade-level acceleration.   
• Students in grades 6-12 must contact their school counselor to request a paper application. Upon submitting the paper application, the email address listed on the application form will receive an email from forms@pisd.edu and communication from any outside test vendor.  

09/15/2022

A4. Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §74.24(c)(2) states that a student may take a specific examination only once during each testing window, AND that students may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times.

The Credit by Exam Office asks Plano ISD counselors to submit applications for only one test window, Q2 or Q3, during the summer credit by exam testing windows. Your campus counselor is available to discuss with you the appropriate test window to choose for Credit by Exam registration.

May/June Registration Scenario
If the student's first attempt is in the May/June testing window and they are unsuccessful, the student has a second and final attempt to earn credit in the July testing window.  This will allow for Score Reports to be received by the campus prior to the start of the school year, as it impacts placement and scheduling.  

July Registration Scenario
If the student's first attempt is in the July testing window and they are unsuccessful, the student's second and final attempt to earn credit is the October-December testing window. Please review Q14 regarding if a student earns credit through Credit by Exam after the start of the school year.

03/31/2025

A5.  Plano ISD Testing: All communication will be sent through School Messenger to the parent/guardian email address listed in Skyward and to the student’s Plano ISD email account.

• UTHS Testing: For Credit by Exam tests administered by the University of Texas High School (UTHS), communication will also be sent via School Messenger to the parent/guardian email address in Skyward and to the student’s Plano ISD email account.
   

• Summer LOTE Testing: For summer testing (quarters 2 and 3) of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) assessments administered by Avant Assessment, communication will be sent to the email address provided on the paper application submitted by the parent/guardian.

School Messenger 

• A Plano ISD Confirmation and How to Test Letter with exam-specific information will be sent via School Messenger to the email address of the parents/guardians in Skyward and to the student's Plano ISD email address one to two weeks before the test window opens.

• Testing notifications and reminders are provided before, during, and after each Credit by Exam window.

03/26/2025

A6. Students are strongly encouraged to begin preparing for the exams as soon as possible.

• All Credit by Exam tests are based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• Study guides, review sheets, and practice tests are also provided by the vendors used for Credit by Exam testing.

• • AVANT Language Assessments

  • UT High School Study Guides

09/15/2022

A7. Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §74.24(c)(2) and Plano ISD Board Policy EHDB(LOCAL) states that a student: 

• May take a specific test once in each test window. 
  • For example, if a student fails to earn the passing score for a test, the student will not be allowed to retake the test until the next test window.
• May not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times. 

IMPORTANT - Students who register for a high school course Credit by Exam test and fail to access and complete the test will have one final attempt to earn credit. 

09/15/2022

A8. Students must complete and earn credit for all prerequisite courses before attempting a Credit by Exam test for the next course in the sequence per the Plano ISD Course Catalogs. 

Please contact your campus counselor to determine the appropriate test window to register. 

For additional information on subject course sequencing, review the Plano ISD Course Catalog webpage.

09/15/2022

A9. When registering for a Credit by Exam the campus counselor will make the determination if the student is attempting to earn credit without Prior Instruction or with Prior Instruction. 

For students without Prior Instruction, the student must score 80% or above on the Credit by Exam test to earn credit.

For students with Prior Instruction, the student must score 70% or above on the Credit by Exam test to earn credit.

Plano ISD Board policy EHDB(LOCAL) states the criteria for determining Prior Instruction (also referred to as Credit Recovery). To earn credit for a course when a student has had prior instruction under the following conditions:

• The student is enrolling in the District from a non-accredited school; 
• The student has failed a subject or course; or 
• The student has earned a passing grade in a subject or course but has failed to earn credit because of excessive absences.

09/15/2022

A10.  Results from Plano ISD will be sent via School Messenger to the email addresses of the parents/guardians in Skyward and to the student's Plano ISD email address. Results are sent approximately three to five weeks after the close of the testing window.  

• Score Reports are sent directly to the Counseling office at your student's current school.  See Q11 for how grade points and earned credit are recorded on a student's transcript. 
• Per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), NO results will be released over the phone or in response to an email request. 

03/26/2025

A11. No grade points are awarded for grades earned through Credit by Exam, only course credit can be earned. Units of credits are not applied to Honors, AP, or IB designated courses.

Scores below the required minimum for credit will not be recorded on a student's transcript.

Units of credit and numeric grades earned through Credit by Exam shall be recorded on the permanent academic record for grades 6‐12, but will not be included in Plano ISD's calculations of GPA or rank‐in‐class. 

For students without Prior Instruction, the student must score 80% or above on the Credit by Exam test to earn credit.

For students with Prior Instruction, the student must score 70% or above on the Credit by Exam test to earn credit.

09/15/2022

A12. Students are not allowed to forfeit Credit by Exam credit. 

Once the credit is earned, students cannot sit in the course for any reason, including for local credit or because of low performance in the subsequent course.

09/15/2022

A13. Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and US History Credit by Exam tests are available. 

Students who earn course credit through Credit by Exam without Prior Instruction are not required to take an applicable End-of-Course assessment. The score and earned credit must be documented on the student’s transcript. Refer to Q5.

Students who earn course credit through Credit by Exam with Prior Instruction are obligated to satisfy the STAAR EOC requirement for graduation.

9/15/2022

A14.  At the time of registration, the campus counselor will discuss potential placement in the next course/grade level if the student is successful with the Credit by Exam. 

Students earning credit for a course placement will occur at the start of a school year or semester, regardless of when the Credit by Exam was taken.

Students accelerating to higher grade level placement will only occur at the start of a school year, regardless of when a Credit by Exam for acceleration is taken.

IMPORTANT - There is no guarantee that the next course in the sequence will be available at either the home campus or another campus. If a course is only available on another campus, district transportation will not be provided.

09/15/2022