Texas law requires a high school principal to designate a school counselor or school administrator to review Personal Graduation Plan (PGP) options with each student entering grade nine, together with the student's parent or guardian. The options reviewed must include the distinguished level of achievement and the endorsements. Before the end of that school year, the student and the parent or guardian confirm and sign the plan.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

That means Texas students are weighing an endorsement at the very start of high school. A student who has seen few careers or programs has little to base that choice on, and the PGP can become a signature on a form. The law allows a student to amend the plan later, which makes continued exploration useful well after grade nine.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Texas schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Texas

Texas offers dual credit, in which an eligible high school student enrolls in college courses and earns credit from both the college and the high school. Texas Education Code § 28.009 requires each school district to implement a program under which students may earn the equivalent of at least 12 semester credit hours of college credit in high school, and the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board jointly develop statewide dual credit goals. Through the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program, established under Texas Education Code § 28.0095, participating public institutions offer dual credit courses to educationally disadvantaged students at no cost to those students.

Students who explore careers and majors before choosing dual credit courses are more likely to pick credits that transfer toward a real goal, and daily exploration (for example on a 13th Year™ kiosk) can make those choices clearer.

Official program information: Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Explore before the endorsement is chosen. Texas endorsements include STEM, business and industry, public services, arts and humanities, and multidisciplinary studies. Give students a chance to see the careers and programs behind each one before the plan is signed.
  • Start in middle school. Texas school districts provide instruction in grade seven or eight on preparing for high school, college and a career. Exploration at that stage gives students a head start on the PGP conversation.
  • Keep exploring after the plan is signed. A student may amend the personal graduation plan, with written notice sent to parents. Ongoing exploration helps students notice when a plan needs to change.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students who explore on their own time come to the Personal Graduation Plan review with a clearer sense of which endorsement and course of study fit them. It supports, and does not replace, the Texas Personal Graduation Plan process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Texas high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.