A student may earn a distinguished level of  achievement by successfully completing: 

• a total of four credits in mathematics, which must include Algebra II
• a total of four credits in science
• the remaining curriculum requirements
• the curriculum requirements for at least one endorsement 

A student must earn distinguished level of achievement to be eligible for top 10% automatic admission.

A student may earn a performance acknowledgment : 

    For outstanding performance 

• in a dual credit course
• in bilingualism and biliteracy
• on an AP test or IB exam
• on the PSAT, the ACT-Plan, the SAT, or the ACT 

    For earning a nationally or internationally recognized business or industry certification or license

Dual Credit Courses

(1)  at least 12 hours of college academic courses, including those taken for dual credit as part of the Texas core curriculum, and advanced technical credit courses, including locally articulated courses, with a grade of the equivalent of 3.0 or higher on a scale of 4.0 or 

(2) an associate degree while in high school

Bilingualism and Biliteracy

A student may earn a performance acknowledgment  in bilingualism and biliteracy by demonstrating proficiency in accordance with local school district grading policy in two or more languages by:

(1)  completing all English language arts requirements and maintaining a minimum grade point average (GPA) of the equivalent of 80 on a scale of 100; and 

(2) satisfying one of the following: 

• completion of a minimum of three credits in the same language in a language other than English with a minimum GPA of the equivalent of 80 on a scale of 100; or
• demonstrated proficiency in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Level IV or higher in a language other than English with a minimum GPA of the equivalent of 80 on a scale of 100; or
• completion of at least three credits in foundation subject area courses in a language other than English with a minimum GPA of 80 on a scale of 100; or
• demonstrated proficiency in one or more languages other than English through one of the following methods:
• a score of 3 or higher on a College Board AP exam for a language other than English; or
• a score of 4 or higher on an IB exam for a higher-level languages other than English course; or
• performance on a national assessment of language proficiency in a language other than English of at least Intermediate High or its equivalent

Advanced Placement

(1) a score of 3 or above on a College Board advanced placement examination

PSAT, the ACT-Plan, the SAT, or the ACT

(1) earning a score on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) that qualifies the student for recognition as a commended scholar or higher by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, as part of the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) of the College Board or as part of the National Achievement Scholarship Program of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation 
 
(2) achieving the college readiness benchmark score on at least two of the four subject tests on the ACT-PLAN® examination
 
(3) earning a combined critical reading and mathematics score of at least 1250 on the SAT®; or 
 
(4) earning a composite score on the ACT® examination of 28 (excluding the writing sub score)

Performance 

Nationally or Internationally recognized business or industry certification or license

(1)  performance on an examination or series of examinations sufficient to obtain a nationally or internationally recognized business or industry certification or 

(2)  performance on an examination sufficient to obtain a government required credential to practice a profession