Credit By Exam/Exam for Acceleration Information

Credit by exam (CBE) is available for students who failed a course and can be taken only for an original credit.

  1. A student in grades 6‐12 will be given credit for an academic subject if the student scores 70% or above on each of the criterion‐referenced examinations for the applicable course. Credit will be given and the examination score will be entered on the student’s transcript.
  2. It is not recommended to gain credit by such an examination if the course grade is less than 60% in the course failed. Students may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times.
  3. Students who have already earned a credit for specific high school course cannot take CBE to pull up her/his GPA.

Exam for acceleration (EA) is available for students who want to skip each of the following areas: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

  1. To earn a credit students need to score 80% or above for EA.
  2. If a student scores 80% or above (for acceleration) or 70% or above (for recovery) on the credit-by-exam (CBE), credit toward high school graduation is awarded.  Typically, there is one exam per semester (A for first semester, B for second) so that each exam earns 0.5 credit.  A student can only attempt to earn credit for a course by CBE once.
  3. Students may take a specific examination only once during each window. Students may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times.
  4. Credits obtained through EA (without instruction) will not be calculated for GPA and class rank (except for CBE LOTE exams which GPA points will be counted)

Procedure

Students are required to register for CBE/EA at least one month prior to first day of testing (or CBE/EA window). Parents/Students need a counselor (and/or Campus CBE coordinator) approval to order a CBE. Once approved, parents/students pay a fee (only for credit recovery / fee subject to change) per semester course. There is no fee for taking Exam for Acceleration.

No Prior Instruction Credit Exams

Students who have had no prior instruction in a course will be awarded credit for the applicable course if the student receives one of the following scores:

  • Three or high on an AP exam
  • A scaled score of 50 or higher on a CLEP exam
  • Credits obtained through AP or CLEP exams will not be calculated for GPA or class rank

Additional Information

  • HSI-Sugar Land will not accept scores of testing completed outside of our campus scheduled testing window without prior written approval from his/her assigned counselor and campus testing coordinator.
  • The student is only allowed one attempt at a course exam.
  • Credit-by-Exams are typically divided into two semesters labeled with an A for first semester and a B for second semester. To accelerate to the next course earning a full credit, students must perform satisfactorily on BOTH semesters (e.g. two CBEs (A and B)). For example, if a student took and passed the ALG2A CBE but did not pass the ALG2B CBE, he/she will NOT receive a credit for first semester Algebra II (e.g. 0.5 credits).
  • All sessions are to test out of the following school year. Deadline to complete a test is July 25th for the upcoming school year. Deadline to register is no later than about a month before due date of each test.
  • A ‘No Show’ is considered an attempt for a CBE score. Students who do not appear for their scheduled exam are not eligible to register for the same exam the same school year.
  • Students can test multiple subjects in one session, they just cannot take multiple levels of the same subject in one session.
  • Art and P.E. – No CBE/EA Testing will be offered. Art and P.E. courses must be taken on the campus. L.O.T.E classes are offered on campus, however starting the  2024-2025 school year,  if a student wishes to take L.O.T.E CBE it will be through the program AVANT. Important note for L.O.T.E CBE, for every credit earned (we will not excluded any credit that been earned, no exceptions) from the exam it will be counted towards GPA out of 4.