Exam for Acceleration (EA)

Definition & Purpose

Credit by Exam (CBE) and Exam for Acceleration (EA) are terms that are occasionally used interchangeably, but they are not utilized for the same purpose. To learn more about CBEs, please visit the District’s Credit by Exam Page. 

Exam for Acceleration (EA) - Provides an opportunity to earn grade level or course credit in which no prior formal instruction was completed. The EA is designed for a very small percentage of learners who have both the academic and emotional need to advance a course. Exam for Acceleration is not designed for grade level recovery when a student is retained in a previous grade level. Students must demonstrate mastery of 80% or higher on an EA to earn credit.

The only students who should take an exam for acceleration are those who display an extremely advanced level of understanding of the learning objectives assessed on the EA which will be the grade level/course above the grade level/course in which your child is currently enrolled.

Registration and Credit

Parents who wish to have their child take an EA should carefully read the District Guidelines for Exam for Acceleration, and then contact their child’s campus counselor to complete the FISD EA online application process by the deadline posted below under “Testing Dates and Deadlines.” Or, while it is not encouraged, the Frisco ISD Board does allow parents to request Exam for Acceleration testing outside of Frisco ISD. Counselor approval is still needed for outside testing, and parents should submit an Approval Request for Independent Administration of Exam for Acceleration form to their child’s campus counselor by the district’s published application close dates (see chart below) after carefully reading the District Guidelines for Exam for Acceleration. 

If an Exam for Acceleration is passed, your child will be accelerated. If you do not want your student to accelerate or are not sure you want him/her to accelerate, your child should not take an EA.  After successful completion of an EA taken for high school credit, the numerical score earned will be posted to the student’s high school transcript and the student will earn high school credit. The transcripted credit will not be calculated into the student’s grade point average (GPA) for ranking purposes. For middle school courses, the student’s EA numerical score will be documented in the student’s permanent academic record.  Scores not meeting the passing standard will be documented in the student’s high school transcript or middle school permanent record as “NG.”

Guidelines

Testing Dates & Deadlines

Please reach out to your student’s counselor to apply. To allow time for processing, your intent to apply should be received by the campus counselor no later than 48-hours prior to the Parent Application Approval Deadline (see below).

Acceleration Testing for High School, 1-Semester Courses

Window Application Requests Begin Parent Application Approval Deadline Test Dates
B  9/18/2024 10/18/2024
 November 6-12*
C  11/1/2024  12/1/2024  January 8-10*

* November and January tests are reserved for HS, 1-semester courses.  Year-long courses (e.g. Math 7) cannot be tested during Windows B or C due to pre-requisite and state guidelines.  For additional information, please see the District Guidelines for Exam for Acceleration.
*For World Language testing, the November Window B is reserved for seniors only. Window C will not be used for World Language testing.

Acceleration Testing for 2025-26 Placement

Window Application Requests Begin Parent Application Approval Deadline Test Dates
D  2/1/2025  3/1/2025
 March 27 - April 10
A 4/16/2025  5/9/2025**
 July 14-18
(Centralized Testing for current and pre-registered students)

**New to Frisco students will need to contact their campus about application and testing details while counselors are on contract. Learn more about New to Frisco student acceleration exams.

Frisco ISD CBE Certification Reports

All of Frisco ISD CBEs are approved for acceleration purposes only and meet the requirements outlined in the revised TAC §74.24 rule. Texas' credit by exams policy 19 TAC §74.24 requires local district providers of assessments for acceleration to report student scores annually. Please see the following Frisco ISD CBE Certification Reports for details.