Texas high school students are earning more college credits than ever before, saving them time and money on a path to an associate or bachelor’s degree.
Students in Texas public schools combined to score roughly 2.5 million college credit hours in 2023-24, as schools across the state continue to add dual credit, Advanced Placement and other advanced courses.
The rise in college credit attainment comes as school districts improve their rates of college, career and military readiness, a key metric used by the state to measure how well districts are preparing students for success after graduation. Nearly two-thirds of the Class of 2023 was considered college-ready by the state.
Earning extra credits
The number of college credit hours earned by Texas students surged 29 percent between 2018-19, the last full school year before the pandemic, and 2023-24, data published by the Texas Education Agency show.
Notably, students continued to receive college credit at consistent rates through the first few years of the pandemic, a period marked by roughly 100,000 fewer students enrolling in Texas’ public community colleges, colleges and universities.
Hitting the core classes
The most popular avenue for earning college credit came through dual credit courses in English, U.S. history and U.S. government.
The dual credit model involves students taking college-level classes at their high school or a college campus. Students get high school and college credit for passing, and their grade sticks on their college transcript.
Advanced Placement classes were the second-most popular method of getting college credit. Students earned about 54,200 credit hours between the two AP English exams, plus another 37,800 credit hours from AP U.S. History and 23,700 credit hours from AP Biology.
Readying for the workforce
While many students earn credits that go towards a four-year degree, others might work toward a professional certificate or associate degree that would allow them to join the workforce soon after graduation.
Some of the most popular avenues to earn workforce-focused credits are communications, business and finance, health science, automotive repair and law enforcement.
Several Houston-area school districts leaned into career and technical education programs coming out of the pandemic, offering career-specific courses at campuses like Houston ISD’s Barbara Jordan Career Center, Alief ISD’s Marshall Center for Advanced Careers, and Spring ISD’s Wunsche High School.
As the state continues to rate school districts based on their ability to prepare students for life outside of the classroom, dual credit and other advanced course programs likely will continue to grow. Credits earned in high school can also save families thousands of dollars in college tuition or apprenticeship training costs, and help students find full-time employment years earlier than they otherwise could.
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