(a) General provisions.
(1) A school district must provide at least one window to test between January 1 and March 31, one window to test between April 1 and June 30, one window to test between July 1 and September 30, and one window to test between October 1 and December 31 annually when each examination for acceleration for each primary school grade level and for credit for secondary school academic subjects required under Texas Education Code, §28.023, shall be administered in Grades 1-12 unless the examination has an administration date that is established by an entity other than the school district. A student may take a specific examination only once during each window. The testing window must be designed to meet the needs of all students. The dates must be publicized in the community.
(2) A school district shall provide opportunities for a student who is homeless or in substitute care who transfers to the district after the start of the school year to be administered credit by examination at any point during the school year.
(3) A school district shall not charge for an examination for acceleration for each primary school grade level or for credit for secondary school academic subjects. If a parent requests an alternative examination, the district may administer and recognize results of a test purchased by the parent or student from Texas Tech University or The University of Texas at Austin.
(4) A school district must have the approval of the school district board of trustees to develop its own tests or to purchase examinations that thoroughly test the essential knowledge and skills in the applicable grade level or subject area.
(5) A school district may allow a student to accelerate at a time other than one required in paragraph (1) of this subsection by developing a cost-free option approved by the school district board of trustees that allows students to demonstrate academic achievement or proficiency in a subject or grade level.
(b) Assessment for acceleration in kindergarten through Grade 5.
(1) A school district must develop procedures for kindergarten acceleration that are approved by the school district board of trustees. The board of trustees shall approve an audit process to be completed for assessments for acceleration.
(2) A student in any of Grades 1-5 must be accelerated one grade if he or she meets the following requirements:
(c) Assessment for course credit in Grades 6-12.
(1) A school district board of trustees shall approve for each high school course, to the extent available, at least four examinations. The board of trustees shall approve an audit process to be completed for examinations under subparagraph (B)(iii) of this paragraph.
(2) In order for a school district to administer an examination for credit, prior to the first administration, the school district or the provider of the assessment must certify that the examination:
(3) A school district or the provider of the assessment must make public an annual report, including:
(4) In order for a school district to administer an examination for credit for a course that has a state end-of-course assessment instrument, the school district or the provider of the assessment must certify, prior to the first administration, that the examination:
(5) If the number of students who take an examination in a given year is not sufficient to determine comparable results among subgroups, the provider may obtain approval from the State Board of Education to demonstrate comparable results over a specified number of years.
(6) For an examination that is validated in accordance with paragraph (4) of this subsection, a school district or the provider of the assessment must make public:
(7) Examinations for courses that do not have a state end-of-course assessment shall meet all requirements in paragraph (2) of this subsection no later than the 2019-2020 school year.
(8) A student in any of Grades 6-12 must be given credit for an academic subject in which he or she has had no prior instruction if the student scores:
(9) A student may not attempt to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course more than two times.
(10) If a student fails to earn credit by examination for a specific high school course before the beginning of the school year in which the student would ordinarily be required to enroll in that course in accordance with the school district's prescribed course sequence, the student must satisfactorily complete the course to receive credit.
(11) If a student is given credit in accordance with paragraph (8) of this subsection in a subject on the basis of an examination on which the student scored 80% or higher, the school district must enter the examination score on the student's transcript, and the student is not required to take an applicable end-of-course assessment instrument for the course.
(12) In accordance with local school district policy, a student in any of Grades 6-12 may be given credit for an academic subject in which he or she had some prior instruction if the student scores 70% on a criterion-referenced test approved by the school district board of trustees for the applicable course.
Source Note: The provisions of this §74.24 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 7240; amended to be effective September 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 5675; amended to be effective September 1, 2001, 25 TexReg 7691; amended to be effective August 8, 2006, 31 TexReg 6212; amended to be effective September 1, 2008, 33 TexReg 1089; amended to be effective May 11, 2014, 39 TexReg 3591; amended to be effective November 24, 2015, 40 TexReg 8209; amended to be effective August 27, 2018, 43 TexReg 5514