High School Examinations

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) designed the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and TELPAS Alternate to assess the progress that Emergent Bilingual (EB) students, also referred to as English learners (ELs), make in learning the English language. TELPAS fulfills  federal requirements for assessing the English language proficiency of EB students in kindergarten through grade 12 in the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement test that measures what a student has learned in school. This standardized test is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and helps them evaluate candidates. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by ACT, Inc. 

When should I take the ACT?

Most high school students take college entrance exams during the spring of their junior year or fall of their senior year. It's important to leave time to re-take the test if you need to raise your score before you apply to college. The ACT exam is offered on designated Saturdays in September, October, December, February, April, June, and July. 

AP Exams are standardized exams designed to measure how well you’ve mastered the content and skills of a specific AP course. Most AP courses have an end-of-year paper-and-pencil exam, but a few courses have different ways to assess what you’ve learned—for example, AP Art and Design students submit a portfolio of work for scoring. 

For more information on the AP Exam Timing and Structure, Practice for the Exams, and AP Exam Calendar visit the AP Exams Overview website.

Credit by Exams (CBEs) offers appropriate and reliable placement or credit for students in grades K-12. Students may choose to take the exams for credit recovery or acceleration.

Credit Recovery

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

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.

What’s the Texas Success Initiative? 

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is the law that requires all Texas public colleges and universities to determine the readiness of all non-exempt, entering undergraduate students to enroll in freshman-level academic courses. Some students are able to qualify for an exemption by subject area in a number of ways, including meeting college readiness scores on the SAT® or ACT®, or successfully completing a high school College Preparatory Course.  Students who enter college without an exemption are required to take the Texas Success Initiative  Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2).  

What’s the Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0? 

The Texas Assessment Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is the exam used to determine the college readiness for non-exempt students, as required by the TSI. TSIA2 helps determine if a student is ready for college-level coursework in English language arts and reading (ELAR) and mathematics. 

SWTJC Potential dual credit students must fulfill TSI requirements by:

1. 1. 1. Being exempt with specific scores via SAT, ACT, and STAAR EOC

      2. Taking the TSIA2 exam and receiving the minimum passing score on the applicable sections required for entry-level in the course desired

SWTJC Entrance Exam Minimum Passing Scores