Publications

Using NSC data, this report presents national and state-by-state findings on the postsecondary enrollment and completion outcomes of high school students who began taking dual enrollment college courses in fall 2015, tracked for four years after high school.

Based on focus group interviews with predominantly Black, Hispanic, and low-income students, this brief examines the experiences of students historically underserved in dual enrollment to understand what these students want from their programs and the educators who lead them.

This article introduces “dual enrollment equity pathways” (DEEP)—a research-based framework for rethinking à la carte dual enrollment as a more equitable on-ramp to college programs of study that lead to high-opportunity career paths for students historically underserved in dual enrollment.

This fact sheet describes the growth of dual enrollment, the various models and funding mechanisms, and steps colleges and high schools can take to make dual enrollment more equitable.

Using interview data from program leaders and statewide student data, this paper examines the implementation and estimates the effects of Ohio’s Innovative Programs, a policy aimed at expanding access to dual enrollment for underserved high school students.

Informed by findings from The Dual Enrollment Playbook and site visits to Title I high schools and their community college partners in Texas and Florida, this report offers guidance for state leaders on how to support practitioner efforts to broaden the benefits of dual enrollment.

The brief, published by The Campaign for College Opportunity, summarizes the research on dual enrollment programs and offers policymakers a strategy to increase college enrollment and attainment via such efforts.

This report presents the dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) framework, which aims to expand access to dual enrollment and redesign practices so that underserved students can use it to pursue a high-value postsecondary degree program directly after high school.

This report describes dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) reforms implemented by six community college–K-12 partnerships in Florida and Texas, and it provides insights and guidance for other colleges and schools interested in undertaking DEEP reforms.

Using data from Texas, this paper describes dual enrollment course characteristics such as instructor affiliation, location, and modality and examines how these characteristics predict students’ course completion, course grades, and subsequent college enrollment.

This brief examines research on five programs—AP, IB, dual enrollment, ECHSs and P-TECHs, and high school CTE with articulated credit—and assesses their potential as large-scale on-ramps to high-quality postsecondary programs for underrepresented students.

Using three case studies, this paper examines the conditions under which dual enrollment programming could be made sustainable through efficiency gains, even for colleges that charge discounted tuition (or none at all)

Using a regression discontinuity approach and data from two cohorts of students in one state, this paper examines the effect of taking dual enrollment credits on the number of in-state public colleges students apply and are admitted to and the selectivity of those colleges.

Based on interviews with educators who are rethinking and revising secondary math coursework, this report describes the role of higher education in influencing high school math reform nationally and in three particular states.

Using administrative data from a large state community college system, this paper examines whether being exposed to a higher percentage of dual enrollment peers influences non-dual enrollment enrollees’ performance in college courses.

This paper estimates the patterns and sources of White–Black and White–Hispanic enrollment gaps in Advancement Placement (AP) and dual enrollment programs across several thousand school districts and metropolitan areas in the United States.

Using descriptive methods as well as a quasi-experimental approach, this report examines the early college outcomes of Florida high school students who enrolled in a dual enrollment college algebra course.

This paper examines challenges embedded within the prevailing high school mathematics course sequence, which prioritizes algebra, and explores innovations that aim to provide curricula and pedagogy more aligned with students’ academic and career goals.

Using data on two cohorts of Florida students who started public high school in 2007 and 2012, this report analyzes dual enrollment course-taking and outcomes by racial/ethnic group (Black, Hispanic, White) and course modality (face-to-face on-college-campus, face-to-face off-campus, and online).

Based on research conducted in three states, this report identifies five principles that undergird the strategies and practices of equitable dual enrollment partnerships between high schools and colleges.

Drawing on interviews with 96 first-year community college students, this journal article compares the roles of students' on- and off-campus relationships in providing information and support.

Using Florida as a case study, this Change Magazine article describes the complexities of implementing effective college readiness reforms and offers insights for policymakers looking to improve student success.

Based on interviews with stakeholders in 11 states and other data, this brief describes the design, implementation, and effectiveness of math transition courses and identifies major trends in course development.

High schools across the country are implementing transition curricula to boost college readiness. This short publication offers an overview of course design options for educators thinking about implementing transition courses.

Based on interviews and other data, this brief describes key elements of English transition curricula in seven states and highlights ways this type of intervention may help prepare students for college.

This brief published by Education Commission of the States discusses state approaches that systematically broaden dual enrollment access and provide pre-collegiate experiences to middle- and lower-achieving students.

This brief describes the availability of transition courses across the country and offers insights into curricular design and goals, subject-area focus, how students are selected to participate, and whether completion of transition curricula guarantees placement into college-level courses.

This paper examines the impact of one transition course model, the At Home in College program, offered to selected high school students in New York City by the City University of New York (CUNY).

This report uses student enrollment and degree records from the National Student Clearinghouse to examine who enrolls in community college dual enrollment courses and what happens to them after high school.

Using site visit data from three community colleges and four high schools, this paper explores how the institutional context of the high schools compared with that of the colleges in ways that may have affected the implementation and efficacy of computer-mediated mathematics.

This study uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of participation in a mathematics transition course on college-level math outcomes in West Virginia for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 high school senior cohorts.

This Jobs for the Future publication proposes research-based milestones of student momentum from twelfth grade through the first year of college, and suggests ways that local high school and college partners can collaborate to support student success.

Based on research as well as discussion among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from seven states, this overview summarizes the state of knowledge on transition courses.

Based on a qualitative study, this report describes the implementation of transition courses in English and math in California, New York City, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

This chapter addresses structural systems reform and college completion, as well as the role of dual enrollment in ensuring equitable postsecondary outcomes.

Emerging early college models are providing opportunities for high school students to accrue college credits and experience themselves as successful ...

Based on interview data, this discussion paper explores whether faculty and college leaders are considering or undertaking reforms of developmental education informed by the Common Core State Standards.

Based on interviews with stakeholders in California, New York, Tennessee, and West Virginia, this report compares initiatives in these states related to early college readiness assessments and transition curricula.

This two-page policy brief summarizes research on early assessment and college readiness "transition courses" and makes recommendations for states considering the approach.

This CAPSEE working paper reviews current research on the effectiveness of interventions and reforms that seek to improve the math preparedness and success of high school students entering college.

This short paper identifies states in which local and statewide efforts have been made to implement early college readiness assessments and transition curricula.

This NCPR working paper outlines the development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the CCSS-aligned assessments and argues that they can be used to support the mission of community colleges.

This report makes a series of policy recommendations for strengthening dual enrollment in Tennessee to ensure that the program contributes to Tennessee's college completion goals.

This NCPR working paper documents the implementation of capstone courses in English and mathematics at more than 20 high schools across Virginia.

The three-year study examined the outcomes of almost 3,000 students participating in eight dual enrollment programs across California.

This NCPR working paper compares outcomes of students who participated in dual enrollment courses through the Concurrent Courses Initiative with those of similar students who did not participate.

This study examines 37 college readiness partnership programs in Texas and the partnerships that created them, identifying their key characteristics as well as benefits and challenges related to their implementation.

This NCPR report presents findings from an experimental study of eight developmental summer bridge programs offered in Texas during the summer of 2009.

This article reviews previous studies on dual enrollment and discusses the results of an evaluation of College Now, the dual enrollment program of The City University of New York.

Using qualitative data from California's Concurrent Courses Initiative, this article explores how teaching in a dual enrollment program can foster new approaches to classroom pedagogy.

This chapter provides a theoretical framework through which to understand the experiences of dual enrollment students as they "try out" the role of college student.

Commissioned by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, this report reviews dual enrollment policies in Tennessee and five peer states—Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

This practitioner packet synthesizes CCRC's findings on dual enrollment outcomes, presents a case study, and lays out guiding questions for practitioners implementing dual enrollment programs.

This NCPR working paper uses a regression discontinuity design to gauge the causal effects of dual enrollment on rates of high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion among students on the margin of eligibility for dual enrollment participation.

Using data from two cohorts of all high school students in Florida and controlling for schools' and students' characteristics, this NCPR working paper examines the relative power of AP and dual enrollment in predicting students' college access and success.

This NCPR report presents the early findings of an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas (seven at community colleges and one at an open-admissions four-year university).

This report discusses eight secondary-postsecondary partnerships in California that sought to integrate dual enrollment with a career-focused strategy for engaging struggling students.

This how-to guide provides information for practitioners, schools, and districts on how to incorporate college coursework into high school academies and pathways.

Prepared for the 2010 White House Summit on Community College, this brief discusses partnerships that promote college enrollment, college readiness, and postsecondary persistence.

This article describes some of the ways in which dual enrollment requires the engagement of college faculty with high school personnel and their students, and it reviews the challenges and potential benefits of these relationships.

This report describes how this Achieving the Dream college collaborated with the University of Texas at El Paso and 12 local independent school districts in the El Paso area to develop and bring to scale an improved process for helping high school students prepare for entry into college.

Based on analysis of nationally representative AP exam data taken from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this article examines whether incentives provided to students, teachers, and schools help students enroll and succeed in AP exams.

This guide for district administrators, teachers, and counselors aims to help schools and districts develop practices to increase access to higher education and details the research evidence informing its recommendations.

This study uses rigorous quantitative methods to examine the impact of dual enrollment participation on students in Florida and New York City.

This report is intended to inform educators, policymakers, administrators, and researchers about current policies and practices that shape dual enrollment in California.

This article provides a theoretical rationale for policymakers' support for programs that allow high school students to take college-level classes for credit.

This summary is intended to help decision-makers understand why research on the effectiveness of dual enrollment programs is important and how policymakers can support research activities.

This report discusses findings and recommendations from a study of the New York City Virtual Enterprises International program, in which students create and run virtual businesses.

This book chapter reviews three dominant strategies to create academic linkages between high school and college—remediation, dual enrollment, and the high school/college alignment movement.

This paper explores whether dual enrollment helps students learn about the role of college student.

This chapter examines the extent to which career academies deliver on their promises.

This report reviews findings from a study of five programs that allow high school students to take classes for college credit, or "credit-based transition programs."

This report analyzes dual enrollment legislation in all 50 states and examines whether these policies promote or inhibit the spread of dual enrollment programs.

This chapter in Career Pathways: Education With a Purpose explains the differences between articulation (which is predominant in typical Tech Prep consortia) and dual enrollment.

This literature review examines research on the effectiveness of school-based career guidance and development programs.

Focusing on dual enrollment, Tech Prep, AP, IB, and middle college high schools, this report offers a comprehensive look at the evidence base on this rapidly growing group of education initiatives.

This article provides an overview of preexisting relationships between high school and colleges and discusses the promising initiative of dual enrollment.

This paper argues that community colleges should be a major institution helping disconnected youth reconnect to education.

This journal article explores the decision-making factors for students applying to postsecondary institutions, with a focus on issues related to student ethnicity.

This book chapter features a credible discussion of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

This book chapter provides an in-depth account of current issues surrounding high-school-to-college transitions.

This book chapter discusses issues pertaining to tech prep programs, which link students’ secondary and postsecondary education experiences and help ...

This article analyzes the roles of counselors in the Puente program, a high school intervention designed to improve guidance and counseling for disadvantaged high school students.

This book chapter, published in Community Colleges: Policy in the Future Context, offers insight into the future direction of policies shaping K-14 education.

This paper and related brief discuss the problem of high school students' failure to prepare for college demands; policy reforms are suggested.

Drawing on site visits to four community colleges, this paper examines how community colleges are responding to workforce preparation pressures.

This book chapter, published by the American Youth Policy Forum, discusses shaky prospects for successful passages to productive adult lives.