K-12 Credit by Exams

Credit by Exams (CBEs) offer appropriate, reliable placement or credit for students in grades K-12. The exams are designed by curriculum experts and aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Students may choose to take the exams for credit recovery or acceleration. View presentation

At Home, Online Proctored Exams

UTHS offers online proctoring of credit by exams for students in grades 3-12 at home using the Proctorio service, which allows the student to take the exam using their computer or a district-issued computer. Proctorio includes an identification process, requires a webcam for video recording, and uses a lockdown browser to ensure a secure testing experience. Please see our Q & A documents for more information.

Grades K-2 CBEs

Students taking CBEs for K-2 subjects will need to make arrangements to take the exam on-site at their local school district or an approved university testing center. Online proctoring is not available for K-2 subjects because the exams may allow oral administration by the proctor which is not a function provided through the Proctorio online exam system. We recommend reviewing options once there are changes to stay-at-home requirements and testing site closures.

View Available Exams   View Study Guides

Credit Recovery

With approval from the local school district, students in grades 6-12 who received prior instruction in a subject area but did not receive credit may earn credit by passing an exam (grade of 70% or above) that assesses the student's knowledge and skills in that subject area. 

Acceleration

With approval from the local school district, students in grades K-12 seeking placement credit in a subject area in which they have not received prior instruction may earn credit by passing these exams with a grade of 80% or above. The annual UTHS Credit by Exam Certification Reports can be found in the Exam Policy & Development section below.

A variety of subjects are available for acceleration or credit recovery, including the high school STAAR end-of-course (EOC) subjects (Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and US History).

District & School Discounts

District partners receive a discount on exam orders and have up to 60 days to complete testing. It takes up to 10 business days for an order to be completed and placed in the mail (regardless of optional shipping requests). Any incomplete order requests will delay processing. 

Scoring times may vary and exams are scored in the order received, therefore please allow up to 20 business days for scoring. Please allow additional time for scoring Proctorio exams during the coronavirus pandemic which is causing increased volume for online exams and resulting in delays.

Study Guides

Study guides for all K-12 CBEs are available and printable from the website at any time. Study guides for Communication Applications, English, Art, and PE are essential as these exams have specific requirements.

How to Order

Individual Student Orders

  1. Download and complete the Individual Enrollment Form for Grades 3-12 subjects.
  2. Download and complete the Individual Enrollment Form for Grades K-2 subjects.
  3. Submit the completed forms by following the directions on each form.

Students and parents may email UTHSrequestCBE@austin.utexas.edu to submit a CBE Enrollment Form or ask questions about the CBE process.

School/District Bulk Orders

(Please allow up to 10 business days for processing)

For all exams:

  1. Download and complete the Institutional Request Form.
  2. Download and submit the Institutional Student Report Form (via Box, see directions for more information) in the order desired for exam delivery. 

District educators may email UTHSpartnerCBE@austin.utexas.edu to ask questions related to the district CBE ordering process and forms.

Rush Grading

Rush grading is available for all exams. Rush grading is available upon completion of the exam. The exam will be graded within 5 business days of the date that the exam is received from the proctoring location. If expedited shipping is necessary from the proctoring center to UTHS, those arrangements should be made by the parent/student with the proctoring center.  Download the Rush Grading form and email it directly to edservices@austin.utexas.edu or fax to 512-471-7853.

Related Costs

Individual Student CBE Orders

  • Individual semester and K-8 exam: $70 (includes remote proctoring fee)
  • Individual semester exam for grades K-2: $50 (only available in print form for in-district testing)
  • Individual yearlong World Language exam: $125 (includes online proctoring fee)
  • Individual expedited shipping: $30 domestic 
  • Individual international shipping: $75 international; $150 remote areas

District CBE Orders

Print or Online Exams (Proctored In-District)

  • District bulk semester and K-8 exam: $25
  • District bulk yearlong World Language exam: $50 
  • District expedited shipping (both ways):​ $20 per envelope (1-4 exams),  $40 per 1 box (5-100 exams),  ​$80 per 2 boxes (101-200 exams). Additional boxes, add $40 per box

Online Exams with Remote Proctoring (Proctored by UTHS online with student's computer at home)

  • District bulk semester and K-8 exam: $35
  • District bulk yearlong World Language exam: $60

Other Fees

  • Credit by exam inquiry: $50
  • Rush grading exams: $50
  • Exam extension: $35 (must be requested prior to expiration date)
  • Exam change requests: $25
    • These include requests to change proctor, testing site, exam subject or grade level, or exam type from online to print or vice versa.

*During the stay-at-home regulations required to prevent the spread of COVID-19, additional time may be needed by instructors to grade exams. Rush grading and exam inquiries may not be possible for exams taken in print form. Shipping of print exams to testing centers other than school districts and expedited shipping may no longer be possible or may be delayed.

Parents and students should view their local school district websites to read any changes to the district testing windows and logistics for on-site testing. UTHS is continuing to coordinate with school district contacts regarding their exam testing needs during remote learning.

Credit by Exams fees are non-refundable once the student is enrolled in the exam, which typiically occurs the same day that the registration is received.

Exam Policy & Development

According to 19 TAC §74.24 Credit by Exams (c)(6), a student may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times. State policy requires CBEs to be administered by approved staff at a school district or university testing center.

UTHS CBE Certification Reports

Texas' credit by exams policy 19 TAC §74.24 requires providers of CBEs to Texas school districts to certify that their examinations meet specific rule criteria and to report student scores annually. Please see the following UTHS CBE Certification Reports for details, which include alignment to the revised rules effective August 2018. Clarification regarding rule changes is included in the 2017-18 report and the score reports with the expanded student group data are included in the reports beginning in 2018-19. UTHS posts the CBE Certification Reports annually, which include score reports for all students statewide who completed CBEs provided by UTHS during the prior academic year.

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2023-24

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2022-23

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2021-22

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2020-21 

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2019-20 

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2018-19 

UTHS CBE Certification Report 2017-18 

Recommended District Best Practices for CBEs

View our UTHS recent presentations for guidance regarding best practices for offering credit by exams to serve a variety of students' needs.

An Alternative Path to Success

Watch this short video of a parent and son as they explain how credit for acceleration will help to prepare for high school.