Advanced Academics includes courses, programs, assessments, services, and supports that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate college and career readiness and earn postsecondary credit.

• AP  Rigorous college-level courses and exams through Advanced Placement

• Dual Credit Complete college course to earn college credit and high school credit simultaneously

• SAT College entrance exam and study prep information

• ACT College entrance exam and study prep information

• TSIA Texas exams to determine college readiness (Texas Success Initiative Assessment)

High school students across the country and around the world take AP courses and exams to challenge themselves, explore their interests, earn college credit and gain “advanced” placement for course selections. Your AP exam scores can earn college credit before you set foot on a college campus, and perhaps, let you skip introductory college courses.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) defines dual credit as a system in which an eligible high school student enrolls in college course(s) and receives credit for the course(s) from both the college and high school. 

The SAT is an assessment created and administered by the College Board and has been used as a college admissions test since the mid-1920s. Students may take the SAT for admission into a two- or four-year university, obtain scholarships, and/or assess their readiness for freshman-level college coursework. 

The ACT is an assessment created and administered by ACT, Inc. and has been used as a college admissions test since 1959. Students may take the ACT to gain entrance into a four-year university, obtain scholarships, and/or assess their readiness for freshman-level college coursework. 

The TSI Assessment (TSIA) is part of the Texas Success Initiative enacted by the Texas State Legislature and designed to determine a student’s readiness for college-level coursework in the general areas of reading, writing, and mathematics.

The TSIA, or one of its exemptions, has been required of Texas students entering a Texas college or university for nearly ten years. The TSIA is administered through the College Board’s Accuplacer digital platform.