Summer school and credit by exam in Frisco ISD

Summer school: the basics

Summer 2027 dates, prices and courses aren't posted yet. Here is how summer 2026 worked, as an example. Check Frisco ISD's summer school page in the spring.

• Online: every course uses Edgenuity or Canvas, so you work from home. High school students work at their own pace, with live tutoring sessions in the morning and evening.
• Dates (2026): June 1 to June 25.
• Sign up (2026): April 2 to May 28, in the Student Portal (look for the “Summer School Registration” tile). Payment was due May 30 at 11:59 PM.
• Up to 2 semester courses (1 full credit) in one summer.
• Your campus counselor or administrator must approve every course.
• Registration isn't complete until you pay, and there are no refunds after registration. In 2026 you could drop for a full credit of the fee until May 31 at 4 PM, and drop with no grade (but no money back) until June 8 at 4 PM. After that, the grade is posted.
• If you are, or might become, an NCAA athlete, tell your counselor so you're placed in the right type of course.

Courses for new credit (original credit)

“Original credit” means taking a course for the first time. These courses are open to students who will be in grades 9–12 in the next school year, so an 8th grader can take the “going into 9th grade” courses the summer before high school. The list below is from Frisco ISD's summer course page during summer 2026.

• Business Information Management and Medical Terminology: you must sign up for both semesters.
• The page lists “Required Prerequisite: Biology; Recommended Prerequisite: IPC or Chemistry” for starred courses, and it isn't clear which courses that note covers. Ask your counselor.
• Geometry is offered in summer only for credit recovery, not for new credit.

Credit recovery

Credit recovery is for students who failed a semester or a full year of a course. You work online with access to a Frisco ISD teacher. The 2026 list included English I–IV; Biology, Chemistry, Physics, IPC, Earth and Space Science and Environmental Science; World Geography, World History, US History, US Government, Economics, Sociology and Psychology; Geometry, Algebra I, Algebra II, AQR, Algebraic Reasoning, Statistics and Pre-Calculus; and Speech, Health, Lifetime Fitness and Wellness, BIM, Art 1, Medical Terminology, Survey of Business, Marketing, and Finance, Dollars & Sense and Money Matters.

A middle school student who fails both semesters of Algebra I can't use summer school credit recovery for it.

Does summer school count in your GPA?

Yes. Frisco ISD's summer school page says all summer school courses count in your GPA, and its course page says this includes original credit (starting with the Class of 2024). So a summer grade counts just like a school-year grade. See Frisco ISD GPA and class rank for how the points work.

• Class rank is calculated in September, so it includes your summer school courses.
• Frisco ISD's GPA page says non-Frisco ISD online correspondence courses count in GPA too, but it doesn't name which schools are accepted. Ask your counselor before signing up for an outside online course.
• Courses you take on your own through Collin College (not as Frisco ISD dual credit) don't appear on your high school transcript and don't count in GPA or rank.
• Frisco Flex, the district's online option, is for the school year; its page doesn't mention a summer session.

Some students use summer for one-semester requirements like Health or Speech to free up room during the year. Others keep summer free. Your counselor can help you decide what fits your 4-year plan.

Credit by exam without prior instruction

Credit by exam (CBE) “without prior instruction” means you earn credit for a course you never took, by passing a test. Students use it to skip ahead, for example to start a higher math course.

• You need 80% or higher. A 3 or higher on an AP exam, or 50 or higher on a CLEP exam, also counts.
• On your transcript, not in your GPA. Your score is posted to your high school transcript and you earn the credit, but it isn't counted in your GPA for class rank. A failing score is recorded as “NG”.
• Free when you test in Frisco ISD. If you cancel late or don't show up, you may pay the cost of the exam (up to $50 per exam), get an “NG”, and use up one of your two tries.
• How to apply: contact your campus counselor to start the online application. A parent must approve it by 4:00 PM on the deadline.
• The tests come from Texas Tech University, the University of Texas, or other tests the district approves. Frisco ISD doesn't give study materials.
• You must have every prerequisite, in the usual course order. You can try one course per subject in each window, and no more than twice for the same course.
• For a two-part exam, you can pass with an 80% average if you take both parts in the same window. A year-long course gives no credit for just one semester.
• Testing outside the district is allowed only through University of Texas High School (UTHS) or Texas Tech University (TTU), with your counselor's approval first, and a parent pays.
• Credit by exam may not count toward NCAA core course rules.

2026-27 credit by exam windows

• Year-long courses (like Algebra I) can only be tested in Windows A and D. Windows B and C are for one-semester high school courses.
• World language: Window B is only for seniors who need the credit to graduate, Window C has none, and Window A is tested online.
• If you move to Frisco ISD after May 14, 2027, contact your campus counselor. High school counselors' last workday in 2026-27 is May 27.

Credit by exam with prior instruction

This is for students who already took a course but don't have the credit. It can be used if you're coming from a school that isn't accredited, you failed the course, or you passed but lost the credit because of absences.

• You need 70% or higher.
• The campus principal (or someone they choose) must approve it. Get the application from your school counselor; a parent submits it online.
• You pay a fee for each semester exam. Frisco ISD says the amount depends on the exam and doesn't list it. Ask your counselor.
• On your transcript, but not in your GPA for class rank.
• Testing dates for this kind of exam aren't posted. Ask your counselor.
• It may not count toward NCAA core course rules.

Texas rules for everyone

These rules come from the State of Texas (19 TAC §74.24), so they apply in every Texas public school district:

• Four testing windows a year, one in each quarter: January–March, April–June, July–September and October–December. You can take a given exam only once per window.
• Without prior instruction, you earn credit with 80% on the district's approved test, a 3 or higher on an AP exam, or a scaled score of 50 or higher on a CLEP exam. Your score goes on your transcript, and you don't have to take that course's end-of-course (EOC) STAAR test.
• Districts can't charge for these exams. If a parent asks for a different test, the district may accept one the parent or student buys from Texas Tech University or The University of Texas at Austin.
• Two tries at most for each high school course.
• If you don't earn the credit before the school year you'd normally take the course, you take the course.
• With prior instruction (you took the course before), a district may give credit for 70%, following its own local policy.
• The state rule doesn't say whether credit by exam counts in GPA. Each district decides that.

Official sources

• Frisco ISD: 2026 Secondary Summer School
• Frisco ISD: Summer School Registration (dates, payment and drop deadlines)
• Frisco ISD: Summer School Course Offerings (original credit and credit recovery lists)
• Frisco ISD: GPA and Class Rank (what counts in GPA)
• Frisco ISD: Credit by Exam Without Prior Instruction (2026-27 windows) (2026-27 windows)
• Frisco ISD: District Guidelines for Credit by Exams (updated 10/28/2026) (cost, outside testing and attempts)
• Frisco ISD: Credit by Exam With Prior Instruction
• Texas Education Agency: 19 TAC Chapter 74, Subchapter C (§74.24 Credit by Examination) (§74.24)