Texas CBE & EA 2025–2026: Frisco, Prosper, Plano, Round Rock, and Lubbock ISD Schedules
Why timing decides whether your student gets credit
If your student is planning to take a Credit by Examination (CBE) or Exam for Acceleration (EA) in Texas this school year, the single biggest predictor of passing on time is starting prep before the application window closes. Texas school districts run discrete windows — miss the window, miss the test until next year.
This guide pulls together publicly verified 2025–2026 information for the five Texas districts where most of our families live: Frisco ISD, Prosper ISD, Plano ISD, Round Rock ISD, and Lubbock ISD. Where a district publishes exact dates, we list them. Where the district does not publish dates publicly (most do not), we link directly to the official page and tell you who to call.
Important — read first. Texas CBE™ is an independent test-prep platform. We are not affiliated with any school district, UT High School, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, or the Texas Education Agency. Dates and policies are pulled from each district's official website but change every year. Always confirm with your campus counselor before relying on any date in this article.
CBE vs. EA — they are not the same thing
Most parents use the terms interchangeably. Texas school districts do not.
- CBE (Credit by Exam) — for prior instruction. Used when the student has already studied the material (homeschool, summer course, transfer credit, online program) and wants to convert that into official credit on a transcript.
- EA (Exam for Acceleration) — without prior instruction. Used when the student has not taken the course and wants to skip it, accelerate a grade, or earn the credit on test-day mastery alone.
If your goal is graduating early, skipping a course, or moving up a grade, the test you usually want is EA, not CBE. Frisco ISD enforces this distinction strictly. Other districts use slightly different wording but the underlying split is similar.
1. Frisco ISD — verified 2025–2026 EA windows
Frisco ISD publishes the most transparent, district-wide schedule of any of the five districts in this guide. The data below is taken directly from the official Frisco ISD Exam for Acceleration page.
Passing score: Per Frisco ISD's official guidance, "Students must demonstrate mastery of 80% or higher on an EA to earn credit." (This is higher than the 70% used by many other Texas districts — do not assume 70% is enough in Frisco.)
How to apply: Contact your child's campus counselor to complete the district's online application process. There is no direct parent-side application portal.
| Window | Application Opens | Application Deadline | Parent Approval Deadline | Test Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B (HS, 1-semester courses) | Sept 15, 2025 | Oct 10, 2025 | Oct 15, 2025 | Nov 3 – Nov 7, 2025 |
| C (HS, 1-semester courses) | Nov 3, 2025 | Nov 21, 2025 | Dec 1, 2025 | Jan 7 – Jan 9, 2026 |
| D (2026–27 placement) | Feb 2, 2026 | Feb 27, 2026 | Mar 2, 2026 | Mar 23 – Apr 2, 2026 |
| A (2026–27 placement) | Apr 20, 2026 | May 22, 2026 | May 26, 2026 | Jul 13 – Jul 17, 2026 |
Highlighted rows (D and A) are the windows for full-year courses such as Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, and U.S. History. Year-long courses are restricted to these placement windows; they cannot be tested in Window B or C.
The summer window (A) is typically the highest-volume because families use it to lock in placement before fall registration. If your goal is to skip Algebra 1 or Geometry going into a new grade, the May 22, 2026 application deadline is the one to circle.
2. Prosper ISD
Prosper ISD publishes its policy and instructions on the official Credit by Exam / Exam for Acceleration page, but exact 2025–2026 window dates are not posted as a public table. Applications go through the campus counselor.
One Prosper-specific structural note: Prosper ISD's middle school math pathway places strong students into accelerated tracks early, which is one reason Algebra 1 and Geometry EA traffic from the Prosper area is heavier than in many other districts.
Action for Prosper families: Email your campus counselor and ask for the 2025–2026 EA testing calendar in writing. Mention which subject (e.g. Algebra 1, Geometry) you are targeting so they can confirm whether year-long courses are restricted to specific windows, as they are in Frisco.
3. Plano ISD
Plano ISD's CBE program is documented at the official Credit by Exam page, organized by grade band:
- Kindergarten Acceleration
- Grades 1–5 Credit for Acceleration / Advancement
- Grades 6–8 Middle School Credit by Exam
- High School Course Credit by Exams
Per Plano ISD's published guidance, all applications go through the campus counselor — students in K–5 must contact their school counselor to request grade-level acceleration; students in grades 6–12 must contact their counselor to request a paper application. Specific 2025–2026 window dates are released to counselors per testing session and are not posted as a public calendar.
Action for Plano families: Contact your campus counselor or Plano ISD's Assessment, Research & Program Evaluation department for the current testing calendar. If you are targeting a Summer 2026 administration, ask now — application windows in Plano typically close several weeks before the test.
4. Round Rock ISD
Round Rock ISD's policy is published on the official Advanced Academics page (formerly at advancedacademics.roundrockisd.org).
What's publicly stated:
- Exams are aligned with TEKS and provided through Texas Tech University and the University of Texas (this is unusual — most districts contract a single vendor).
- Grades K–5: students may accelerate a full grade level by passing exams in math, science, social studies, and language arts.
- Secondary (6–12): students may accelerate in a single subject area or in multiple subjects.
- Eligibility requires that "student performance and records must indicate a high probability of success" — meaning the counselor will review prior grades and test scores before approving the application.
- The July 1 – September 30 testing window has an August 1 application deadline (per RRISD's published schedule).
Action for Round Rock families: Contact your campus counselor for current testing windows and registration forms. The Texas Tech / UT-Austin exam-vendor split means some questions on the actual test may use slightly different style or formatting than other districts.
5. Lubbock ISD
Lubbock ISD operates an Online Advancement Program that handles credit-by-exam style acceleration. Per the official page, the Spring 2026 registration window opens December 2, 2025 and closes January 7, 2026.
Lubbock ISD distinguishes between two paths:
- Acceleration (no prior instruction) — credit earned through CBE or the Online Advancement Program in grades 9–12 can count toward graduation eligibility.
- Prior instruction — credit by examination for prior instruction does not count toward eligibility.
For course offerings, fees, or registration help, Lubbock ISD's Office of Advanced Academics can be reached at (806) 219-0335.
How to prepare working backward from your test date
For Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology, and U.S. History — the four full-year courses most commonly taken via EA — students who pass on the first attempt typically follow a similar prep pattern:
| Time before test | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8–12 weeks out | Confirm the exact window with your counselor in writing. Take a diagnostic mock exam to identify your weakest 2–3 TEKS categories. |
| 6–8 weeks out | Submit the application. Daily 30–45 min targeted practice on weakest TEKS categories. |
| 3–5 weeks out | Take a first full-length, timed mock exam. Review every wrong answer with a step-by-step explanation. |
| 1–2 weeks out | Take a second full-length mock at exam timing. Aim for ≥ 80% if you are in Frisco ISD; ≥ 70% in most other districts (verify your district's specific threshold). |
| Test week | Light review only. Focus on sleep, nutrition, and exam-day logistics. |
The single most underrated step is the first full-length, timed mock exam. Three hours under real conditions surfaces stamina problems, time-management problems, and topical gaps that single-question practice will not reveal.
The four most common EA subjects
- Algebra 1 EA — heaviest demand statewide. Linear functions, quadratics, and systems of equations dominate. Graphing calculator allowed.
- Geometry EA — coordinate proofs, transformations, similarity, and right-triangle trigonometry are the highest-yield TEKS categories. Visual reasoning is a separate skill from algebra.
- Biology EA — strong recall component (organelles, genetics) plus experimental-design questions. About 15–20% of items test scientific method directly.
- U.S. History EA — Texas TEKS coverage from Reconstruction (1877) to the present. About 25–30% of questions involve interpreting a primary source (quote, chart, or political cartoon).
Try a free mock exam
Texas CBE™ provides free sample questions for every subject and full-length, TEKS-aligned mock exams that match the timing and difficulty of the official test.
👉 Try a free CBE mock exam — no credit card required.
If you need help mapping your district's window to a study schedule, email us at aiswingx.com@gmail.com with your district name and target subject.
Texas CBE™ is offered exclusively to users in the United States and is intended for users 13 years of age or older. All schedules and policies above are sourced from each district's official website at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. We are an independent prep platform and do not administer the official CBE or EA — your campus counselor is the authoritative source for your student's specific testing dates and eligibility.