Credit by Examination for Advancement/Acceleration

If a Student Has Not Taken the Course/Subject

A student will be permitted to earn credit by examination for an academic course or subject area for which the student had no prior instruction for advancement or to accelerate to the next grade level.  The deadline to accelerate for the 2023-24 school year is August 14th, the first day of school instruction.  A student must pass all four examinations in Math, Science, Reading, and Social Studies with a score of 80% or higher by this date.

The examinations offered by the district are approved by the district’s board of trustees. Testing windows for these examinations is on a quarterly basis as shown below:

January 1 - March 31
April 1 - June 30
July 1 - September 30
October 1 - December 31

A student may take a specific examination only once per testing window.  If a student plans to take an examination, the student or parent must register with the school counselor no later than 30 days prior to the scheduled testing date.  

Students NOT enrolled in a PISD school are NOT eligible to take an examination.

Kindergarten Acceleration

During the summer preceding kindergarten, a student is provided a one-time opportunity to bypass kindergarten and placed directly into first grade if:

● the student meets the state age requirement of five years old by September 1st;
● is enrolled in a PISD school and applies for the CBE one month prior to the start of school;
● scores at least an 80 on each examination in the subject areas of reading, mathematics,
science, and social studies;
● a district administrator recommends that the student be accelerated; and
● the student’s parent gives written approval of the grade advancement.

Students in Grades 1–5

A student in grades 1-5 can be accelerated one grade level if the student:
● scores at least an 80 on each examination (at the grade level the student wishes to
advance past) in the subject areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social
studies;
● a district administrator recommends that the student be accelerated; and
● the student’s parent gives written approval of the grade advancement.

Students in Grades 6–12

A student in grade 6 or above is eligible to earn course credit with:
● A passing score of at least 80 on an examination approved by the board; or
● A scaled score of 50 or higher on an examination administered through the College Level
Examination Program (CLEP); or
● A score of 3 or higher on an AP examination, as applicable.

A student grades 6-12 may NOT attempt to earn credit by exam for the same subject more than two times.  If a student fails to achieve the designated score on the applicable exam before the beginning of the school year in which the student would need to enroll in the course according to the school’s course sequence, the student must complete the course.

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