Credit by Exam

Students in elementary and middle school may test to skip a grade level or to accelerate in math only. Parents interested in this type of testing should reach out to their student's counselor. Please visit the campus website for counselor contact information. All credit by exam testing is arranged through the campus counselor.

To skip kindergarten, grades 1-8 or to move up in math only, 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.

• Testing Sequence
  • Kindergarten and First Grade: Reading/Language Arts, Math
  • 2nd Grade through 5th Grade: Math, Reading/Language Arts, Science
  • 6th Grade through 8th Grade: Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading/Language Arts

Students will only have one opportunity to test for each grade level considered.

• To skip Kindergarten:
  • 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
• To skip First Grade:
  • 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
• ​​​​​​​To skip Grades 2-8:
  • 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

Study Materials

• Contact the campus counselor to get study materials
• Elementary Tests – students can study the TEKS for the grade level to prepare for testing
• Middle School Tests – students can use the CFISD created Study Guides to prepare for testing
• These exams are academically challenging - not just basic skills - and cover the TEKS for the entire grade-level or specific math course.

Testing Opportunities

• Beginning of Year Testing (August)
  • This is ONLY available to NEW CFISD students.
  • Students will be tested at the campus in August (the first two weeks of school).
• Middle of Year Testing (November & January)
  • Testing during this period will be for acceleration the following school year only. 
  • Students will be tested at their campus to accelerate for the upcoming school year. Grade placement will be made at the beginning of the following school year. 
  • This is ONLY for GRADE LEVEL acceleration - testing for Math Acceleration only takes place in June and July
• Summer Testing (June & July)
  • Testing will be conducted in a districtwide setting.
  • Students who want to skip grades K-8 will be tested in June or July.
  • Students in grades 2-8 who want to advance one year in MATH ONLY will need to test in June or July

Results from Course Content CBE testing are available according to the timeline below. Results are sent to the campus counselor, who shares results with students.

*For All Other Course Content Exams taken in June and July, results are sent to the parent email address provided by the counselor during exam registration within 2 weeks.  These results are also sent to the student’s campus for the following school year in late July.

Summary Scores Report June 2025 to May 2026