As you get older, and as you get into higher education, there are some requirements that need to be fulfilled. In this context, when you enter high school, you need to have some foreign language credits. These credits need to be earned before your senior year of high school. You may be wondering, how do you get these credits? Well, for starters you could always take a course for that language for 4 years all throughout high school. However, thanks to a change in the school system, you are now able to just take an exam concerning a language of your choosing! This option is called the Language CBE(Credit By Exam).

What is the language CBE?

Do you want to be able to get the same high school credits as all your peers without putting in the 4 years of work? Well, luckily for you, there is an option! You can now take a foreign language Credit By Exam test to earn all four credits. It’s just a language test that you take on a certain day of the school year. Here’s another thing, there is a wide variety of languages, so I’m sure you can test on your native one.

The language CBE will allow you to take a language test to attain all language credits without taking a language class in school as part of their daily schedule. This will allow students to not worry about homework from that language class and this gives them an opportunity to choose a course/class they are interested in. 

Where do I get this test done?

The school will give you all information on this. The most popular place that schools get their tests from is with AVANT, UT Austin, or Texas Tech University.  

Avant is your place to have your language CBE done! More than 90% of school districts that take the CBE go to Avant. If not, it is done through a private company itself. Avant is a very trusted and reliable place to get your testing done. Another alternative is that you could study and prepare by yourself and then take the test through your school. This is what most people do. Depending on school districts, tests are offered through various testing sources.

What languages are offered?

• Arabic
• English
• French
• German
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin(Simplified and Traditional)
• Polish
• Portuguese(Brazilian)
• Russian
• Spanish
• American Sign Language
• Latin

(LANGUAGES MAY DIFFER)

All these languages are offered for the STAMP 4S test.

If there are more languages offered, they are probably not through Avant, and actually through some other federation. 

When Can I test?

CBE Testing is usually offered during Spring and Fall. 

Quarterly Testing Windows

• January 1 – March 31
• April 1 – June 30
• July 1 – September 30
• October 1 – December 31

School districts are required to provide at least one window each quarter for students to test, unless the exam selected by the district has a different administration schedule. Students may take a specific exam only once during each testing window. A school district is prohibited from charging a fee for credit by examination. A school district must provide opportunities for a student who is homeless or in substitute care who transfers to the district after the start of the school year to be administered a CBE at any point during the school year.

This information will surely guide you in the right path for pursuing your future. Just remember the advantages and benifits of the CBE if you take it!