CBE Guide
Tips, strategies, and study guides to help you pass your Texas Credit by Exam.
Houston ISD CBE — Family Resource Guide: 3-Credit Ceiling, 2-Attempt Cap (2026-2027)
HISD-specific family guide: Grades 1-5 acceleration (80% on 4 subjects), max 3 course credits per testing administration, max 2 attempts per subject during entire HISD enrollment. HISD-diverse HS landscape (comprehensive + magnet + career pathway).
Texas Charter Schools & Credit by Exam: A 101 Intro for Students and Parents
How does Credit by Exam work at a Texas public charter school — KIPP, IDEA, Harmony, Uplift, or any other? Same Texas statutes as ISDs (CBE is free at school, plus paid UTHS), but each charter's internal policies differ. Here's the practical picture — from $19.99.
Tennessee TCAP Test Schedule 2025–2026: Complete TDOE Calendar for TCAP EOC, TCAP ACH (Grades 3–8), TCAP-Alt, ACT, and English Learners Assessment
The full 2025–2026 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) calendar from the Tennessee Department of Education Assessment Division — every required TCAP window for Fall EOC, Spring Grades 3–5 paper, Grades 6–8 and EOC computer-based, the TCAP-Alternate, optional Grade 2, Fall ACT Senior Retake, Spring ACT Junior Testing, English Learners Assessment, and NAEP. Pulled directly from the TDOE published calendar.
Katy ISD CBE — Family Resource Guide: 80% Bar + Results-by-First-Day Rule (2026-2027)
KISD-specific family guide: 80% acceleration bar (70% recovery), four CBE windows/year, strict ordering deadlines, and the results-must-arrive-by-first-day-of-school rule that determines whether acceleration applies this year or next.
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD CBE — Family Guide: 80% Pass, GPA-Sensitive Prep Strategy (2026-2027)
CFISD-specific family guide: 80% CBE pass standard, three CBE purposes (accelerate/elective/recovery), CBE grades used in GPA and class rank (unlike Frisco ISD), 2-opportunity MS-to-HS credit cap. Prep quality matters more given GPA impact.
Texas Homeschool & Credit by Exam: A 101 Intro for Families
New to homeschooling in Texas, or new to Credit by Exam? Here's the practical intro: how Texas homeschool families use CBE to earn high-school credit, the two CBE routes (free district-based and paid UTHS), and what to actually prep for — from $19.99.
Beyond 8th-Grade Math: The Complete 5-Year UTHS CBE Subject Map (HS Math +200%+, Chemistry +316%, US Government +490%)
We pulled every subject out of every UTHS Credit by Exam Annual Report from 2021 to 2025 — 30+ subjects across 5 testing years. The middle-school math story we wrote about earlier this week was only the surface. The bigger story: high-school math, chemistry, and graduation-requirement CBEs have grown 124–490% in five years.
Florida B.E.S.T. Level 3 vs. Level 4 — What's the Difference, and Which Matters?
Florida's 5-level achievement scale separates passing (Level 3) from proficient (Level 4) from exemplary (Level 5). Here's what each level actually means, which one matters for graduation vs. for college, and what to do when your child lands at the boundary between two levels.
Carroll ISD Southlake CBE — Family Resource Guide: 80% Pass, UTHS-Only, District-Paid (2026-2027)
Carroll ISD Southlake CBE: 80% acceleration, 70% credit recovery. UT High School (UTHS) is sole vendor. District pays costs. K-8 grade skip; 6-8 math jump; HS untaken-course credit.