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| TEA Curriculum |
How can one fit six years of study into just four years of high school?
The easiest way is to begin high school Math courses in middle school. If a student takes Algebra I in the 7th grade, he/she will progress to Statistics by the time they get to the 12th grade.
Summer acceleration
We recommend that each student be at a Pre-Calc level of competency in the 10th grade. This will allow students to prepare better for the SAT/ACT/PSAT-11 in the summer between 10th and 11th. If students are taking AP Physics in the 11th (Physics is a requirement in most states), taking AP Physics concurrently with AP Calculus will boost student performance.
Online Courses or Summer School
In Texas, UT High School Online offers several Math courses to take during the summer. Courses are offered on-level, honors, or even AP. The "A" designation is equivalent to the Fall term, the "B" designation is equivalent to the Spring term. So, a student wishing to accelerate through Geometry I in the summer would have to take both Honors Geometry A and Honors Geometry B.All course enrollments include an online proctored final exam using the Proctorio service and the student's home computer. Proctorio includes an identification process, requires a webcam for video recording, and uses a lockdown browser to ensure a secure testing experience. Now that pandemic-era restrictions are gone, a student can also take the test at brick-and-mortar testing centers.
In general, a student taking a course and completing it at UT High School gets full course credit that can be applied to the student's GPA/Weighted Average GPA/Class Rank metrics back in the student's home school district. Frisco ISD includes the credit for class rank computation. Coppell ISD only provides on level credit even if you take an Honors class. Rules vary, so check with your counselor.
UT High School online follows TEA standards for course length - and replicates what is offered in schools. The Texas calendar is 180 days for the school year - 90 school days for the Fall, 90 for the Spring. The A and B courses represent the Fall and Spring courses respectively.
If you sign up for the A course, your registration for the course will immediately begin. You will then have 90 days to complete the course. This is state law. But you also have to complete B (again, you are permitted 90 days) in time for your fall classes to start at your regular high school. The whole idea of summer acceleration is to complete 180 school days of coursework for both A and B courses in about 75 calendar days (May 18 - Aug 3).
Credit By Exam (Preferred)
If students do not wish to sit through an entire summer course and wish to take an exam for credit (Credit By Exam), they have to check with their school district for when the exams are offered. UT High School Online is the official provider of CBE exams, so check the exam schedule to get an idea. However, your district has the final say.Completing an exam on your own has several advantages. We recommend that students start preparing in late January or early February of the school year to take the tests concurrently with other courses in their grades.
1. Time savings. For children who are already strong in Math, studying for the content with a professional tutor can speed up the time required to pass the tests. Often a 10-session burst of 1-hr tutoring lessons is all a student needs to complete the tests.
We have developed lesson plans for Algebra 1A, Algebra 1B, Geometry A, Geometry B, Algebra 2A, and Algebra 2B. Contact us for more information. With the tests completed, students can engage in other activities during the summer to strengthen their roadmap (Cylinder 3 Extracurricular Activities or Cylinder 4 Volunteering).
2. On-level training. Exams are always on-level so the material is relatively easy to master.
3. Exams are multiple choice. Exams are multiple choice, so students do not have to worry about writing long answers in the Free Response Questions format. For example, the Algebra 2A test has 42 multiple-choice questions worth a total of 100 points. The Algebra 2B test has 71 questions.
4. No GPA impact in most schools. To ease families' concerns that taking an on-level course would impact their students' GPA/Weighted Average GPA/Class Rank, CBE grades in most schools will have no grade impact, allowing the student to progress to the next higher level class in sequence (Katy ISD and Fort Bend ISD are exceptions). Please check with your school district to understand CBE policy.
Completing a course through acceleration can improve your GPA trajectory by allowing you to move into more advanced weighted math courses earlier. The key question is what course replaces the skipped class.
Case 1: No CBE or Summer Acceleration
Consider a student taking Algebra I in 8th grade who earns a perfect score in each course on the 4 (on-level), 5 (advanced), and 6 (AP) scale. The school's standard recommendation would be:
- 9th: Geometry Advanced (5 points)
- 10th: Algebra II Advanced (5 points)
- 11th: AP Precalculus (6 points)
- 12th: AP Calculus AB/BC or AP Statistics (6 points)
Adding those four scores together (5 + 5 + 6 + 6) and dividing by four courses gives a weighted GPA of 5.5 points.
Case 2: CBE Option (Generally Preferred)
Now consider what happens if the student completes Geometry through CBE before high school. Because Geometry is already credited, the student can begin 9th grade in Algebra II Advanced and fit one additional weighted math course into the four high school years. The revised sequence would be:
- Geometry CBE, on-level (4 points)
- 9th: Algebra II Advanced (5 points)
- 10th: AP Precalculus (6 points)
- 11th: AP Calculus AB or BC (6 points)
- 12th: AP Statistics (6 points)
That is now five math courses instead of four.
Case 2A: CBE Option where CBE Grade Counts Towards GPA
In districts where the CBE grade counts toward GPA, such as Katy ISD or Fort Bend ISD, all five scores are included in the calculation: 4 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6, divided by five courses, for a weighted GPA of 5.4 points. That is 0.1 points lower than the standard path because the on-level CBE score of 4 pulls the average down slightly.
Case 2B: CBE Option where CBE Grade DOES NOT Count Towards GPA
In districts where the CBE grade does not count toward GPA, the Geometry CBE score is excluded and only the four high school courses are averaged: 5 + 6 + 6 + 6, divided by four courses, for a weighted GPA of 5.75 points. That is a meaningful improvement over the standard path.
One additional note on the CBE exam itself: the passing threshold is 80 and the maximum score is 100. Any score within that range earns the pass credential, which reduces pressure on the student during the test.
Case 3: Taking the Course through an Online Provider
Some families consider taking Geometry through an online provider, such as UT High School, as an alternative. In that case, the student completes five courses as well, but Geometry Online is graded on the advanced scale rather than on-level, earning 5 points for a perfect score.
The five scores would be 5 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6, divided by five courses, for a weighted GPA of 5.6 points. That is higher than the CBE path in districts where the CBE grade counts (5.4), but lower than the CBE path in districts where it does not (5.75).
The online course also requires a full 8-week summer commitment, time that students could spend on extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or simply enjoying their summer.
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website. But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions.
Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee. Please contact us for more information.
