Advanced Academic Services Destination:College website is designed to assist teachers and other educators keep informed as to what services are provided either directly or indirectly by the San Antonio ISD so that they may assist their students to navigate the processes of college preparation, college selection, and the eventual application processes. The goal is to increase the probability of college success for their students. Middle school and high school educators will especially find a quantity of useful information contained within this page.

Click on the services (links) below to read more.

Gifted and Talented (G/T)/Advanced Student Services

G/T is a state mandated academic servicing program for qualifying K-12 students comprising approximately 6-7% of the San Antonio ISD population.

Duke Talent Search is a voluntary program for high-performing students selected in the 4th/5th grades or 7th grade which offers them the opportunity to take above-level standardized tests (EXPLORE for elementary or SAT/ACT for middle school).

PREP is a voluntary 3-year summer pre-engineering program primarily for 7th, 8th and 9th graders excelling in Math and/or Science offered on all the local college/university campuses.

College Level Programs and Preparation

Advanced Placement (AP)/Pre-AP - AP courses are college level courses taught in high school (additionally, AP Spanish Language in middle school) with a national standardized exam at course-end, enabling a student to earn potential college credit.

International Baccalaureate (IB)/Pre-IB - IB is a prestigious 4-year college preparatory program offered at Burbank High School emphasizing academics but also including student leadership and service, cultural awareness, theory of knowledge and an extended essay. Outstanding performance on the series of IB exams offers the student the potential for college credit.

Dual Credit. College-level courses offered during high school years earn the student both high school and college credit simultaneously.

AVID(Advancement via Individual Determination) - AVID is a support program for students in the middle (2.0-3.5 GPA) during the school day which emphasizes organization and study skills as well as providing tutoring for pre-AP and AP courses and college campus visits.  The San Antonio ISD pioneered AVID in Texas.

CollegeEd - CE is a college awareness and orientation program in the classroom for the 7th grade students and parents.

Standardized Testing

EXPLORE. A national standardized assessment administered to all San Antonio ISD 8th graders in the fall, EXPLORE measures student progress in four academic areas – English, reading, mathematics and science – to assist in the selection of a college preparatory high school course load.

PLAN. A national standardized assessment administered to all San Antonio ISD 10th graders in the fall, PLAN measures student progress in four academic areas – English, reading, mathematics and science – to assist in choosing possible modifications to the high school college preparatory course load.

ACT. A national standardized assessment, ACT is taken voluntarily by high school juniors and seniors in four academic areas – English, reading, mathematics and science – the results of which colleges use for admission selection, course placement and scholarship awards.

PSAT. A national standardized assessment taken in the San Antonio ISD by all 9th grade students and voluntarily by 11th graders. PSAT measures college readiness in three areas – critical reading, mathematics and writing. This is a prep exam for the SAT. PSAT results for 11th graders are used as qualification for National Merit Scholarships, National Hispanic Scholar Scholarships and National Achievement Program (African American) Scholarships.

SAT. A national standardized assessment taken voluntarily by San Antonio ISD 11th and 12th graders, SAT measures college readiness in three areas – critical reading, mathematics and writing – for college use in admission selection, course placement and scholarship awards.

Professional Development

Click here for full calendar of Professional Development and for Registration.

Other Resources