The Keller Independent School District secondary schools offer students the opportunity to participate in challenging academic courses, such as Accelerated (Acc), Advanced (Adv), Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Credit, and Dual Enrollment.  Because these classes are college preparatory and/or similar to college-level courses, students are challenged to be more disciplined, structured, and to perform at a higher academic level.

Students identified as Gifted and Talented are served through the Honors, Advanced Placement, Advanced, Dual Credit, Advanced CTE, Advanced Dual Credit, and Independent Study classes in the secondary schools in the Keller Independent School District.  In order for students to continue to be served, they must be enrolled in one or more of these advanced courses.  Please see the course guide for the specific class titles.

What is Honors?
Honors courses are high school college preparatory courses that are designed to provide students with the necessary skills to be successful in Dual Credit and AP courses.  In KISD, these skills together with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) comprise the syllabi for Honors courses.

What is Dual Credit (DC):  A student may enroll in academic courses for college credit before they graduate from high school.  Students receive both high school and college credit for successful completion of required courses offered through the district partnership university. Students enrolled in dual credit courses are expected to attend class on the scheduled days.  
A student must:
•    Obtain permission from the high school
•    Enroll at the college/university offering the courses
•    Earn a grade average of 70 or above or “C” in each required course
•    Meet the entrance requirements of the college/university including the required TSI exam
•    Comply with the Student Code of Conduct and grading guidelines of the college/university

What is Dual Enrollment (DE):  Courses are similar to dual credit. By participating in a dual enrollment course, a student is working on a college-level curriculum while in high school. However, dual enrollment means that there is a separate college course grade earned and a separate high school course grade earned. The University of Texas at Austin OnRamps courses are an example of this course type. Each dual enrollment course in the guide will have the corresponding HS credit equivalent. Students will register for UT OnRamps courses with their high school teacher at the beginning of the school year after selecting the dual enrollment course for KISD. 

Texas Core Curriculum: The purpose of the core curriculum is to ensure that Texas undergraduate students enrolled in public institutions of higher education will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need in order to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life. Many dual and advanced placement courses in Keller ISD will potentially count towards a degree from any public institution in the state.  One of the most important provisions of the Texas Core Curriculum is that it allows students who successfully complete a 42-semester credit hour (SCH) core curriculum at one institution to transfer the entire set of completed courses to another public Texas higher education institution without having to repeat any core courses. See this website for more information:  http://board.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/TCC/.  Below you will see the nine areas that make up the Texas Core Curriculum.

KISD Dual Program Texas Core Curriculum-  This chart shows the dual courses that are offered during the school day in Keller ISD. 

KISD Dual Program Pathway Curriculum- This chart shows the courses that apply to specific pathways. Students must check with the college/university for transfer capability. 

What is AP?  The AP (Advanced Placement) Program is administered by the College Board of New York.  It allows students to participate in college-level courses and possibly earn college credit while still attending high school. Secondary schools and colleges cooperate in this program to give students the opportunity to show mastery in college-level courses by taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams in May of each school year.

Advanced Placement Examinations (AP): These exams provide students with the opportunity to gain college credit by examination at participating universities.  Information regarding the awarding of credit can be found online at www.collegeboard.com

AP Capstone Diploma Program:  Students can earn the AP Capstone Diploma or the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.  Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma.  Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.  All AP courses and course descriptions can be found throughout this guide.

The chart below shows a side-by-side comparison of Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Credit, and Dual Enrollment: