Credit By Exam Information

Occasionally, students demonstrate an educational need based on data (such as STAAR, state/district assessments, and previous school records) to be considered for a course or grade-level advancement. Students have the opportunity to be assessed through a Credit By Exam (CBE) process once per year if they show an educational need or by parent request.  A parent request for a CBE assessment may take place during the June and July assessment windows. 

If a parent feels a CBE opportunity is in their child's best interest, they should discuss this with their child's current teacher and school counselor. After this, the parent/guardian should complete the form for summer testing found below to submit the request. Deadlines for submission are listed below.  Paperwork received after the given time frame will be considered for a future summer assessment window. 

A student who is new to the district may also have an opportunity to request advancement only during the first two weeks of the school year. Please reach out to your school counselor for more information. 

Rockwall ISD utilizes the University of Texas High School CBEs for core content courses and AVANT for Languages Other than English courses. When a CBE is requested, the assessment is administered by district personnel within the specified summer assessment windows. These assessments are scored by UTHS or Avant and the score results are returned to the district. There is no need to study for the CBE. Students who are ready for acceleration are able to make sense of the content prior to any instruction.  

Students scoring 80% or above on all administered exams have the opportunity to advance. Students must score 80% or above in all four core content areas in order to advance a grade level. Single course advancement occurs only in Math in middle school and in other courses starting in high school. 

More information about the formatting and content of the core content CBE assessments can be found here UTHS Credit by Exams. Information about Avant Language testing can be found here Avant STAMP exams.

Before completing this form, the parent should contact their child's teacher and the current school counselor to let them know that you are requesting a CBE. 

• The registration deadline for the June testing window is May 15, 2026.
• The registration deadline for the July testing window is June 4, 2026.

Credit By Exam Request Form for summer testing requests opens February 27, 2026.

Registration Deadline	Request Form Opens	Test Date
May 15, 2026	February 27, 2026	June 1-4, 2026
June 4, 2026	February 27, 2026	July 6-9, 2026
October 26, 2026	Contact school counselor	November 16-20, 2026 Credit recovery only
January 29, 2027	Contact school counselor	February 10-14, 2027 Credit recovery only