The State Board of Education has established procedures to allow elementary students to “skip” one grade level by taking a series of exams which assess the Texas Essential Knowledge/Skills (TEKS) established for that grade level. Parents interested in having their children screened for credit-by-exam should contact their school counselor. If the school is unable to answer a question, please email the Testing Office at creditbyexam@cfisd.net.

Students in grades K-5 will have four opportunities during the school year to use “credit-by-exam” to accelerate to another grade level. Students will only have one opportunity to test for each grade level considered.

• Testing will be conducted in a districtwide setting.
• For fifth grade students who want to skip subjects in grade 6, follow the application procedures and timeline for middle school.

• Students will be tested at their campus during the first two weeks of school to accelerate for the current school year. Grade placement will be made by the end of the first two weeks. Testing after the first two week window has closed, will be for acceleration the following school year only.
• Students may be tested at their campus in November/December or in February to accelerate for the upcoming school year. Grade placement will be made at the beginning of the following school year.
• Elementary testing will begin with mathematics, followed by reading/language arts and science, if required. 80% mastery on each test is required for advanced placement to occur.
• Testing will begin with mathematics, followed by reading/language arts and science, if required. 80% mastery on each test is required for advanced placement to occur.
• Campus testing will be administered by campus personnel.

To be eligible for Credit-by-Exam, kindergarten students must be 5 on or before September 1 and registered in CFISD. Additional criteria to be considered are noted below.

• Completed kindergarten in a private school in Texas or public school out-of-state; or
• Parent request

Note: To skip kindergarten, students' scores on the credit-by-exam tests will be examined to see if advanced placement criteria have been met. Students who meet the criteria - [score of 80% or better on each subtest of the exam] - may advance one grade level.

To be eligible for Credit-by-Exam, first grade students must be 6 on or before September 1 and enrolled in CFISD. Additional criteria to be considered are noted below.

• Demonstrate above-level achievement on the end-of-year kindergarten benchmarks given in May; or
• Be formally identified as Gifted/Talented [HORIZONS]; or
• Parent request

Criteria to be considered are noted below.

• Work on grade level with A’s in language arts/social studies, math, and science; or
• Be formally identified as Gifted/Talented [HORIZONS]; or
• Score at the 90%ile in both reading and math on any standardized test; or
• Parent request

Note: To skip grades 1-5, students' scores on the credit-by-exam tests will be examined to see if advanced placement criteria have been met. Students who meet the criteria - [score of 80% or better on each subtest of the exam] - may advance one grade level.

Please reach out to your campus counselor for more information regarding credit by exam. Please visit the campus website for counselor contact information. Elementary Counselors return to campuses on August 2, 2022.

Students who wish to take a middle school or high school course administration of credit by exam need to contact their campus counselor to review course requirements prior to signing up for a credit by exam. Please visit the campus website for counselor contact information.