Equal Access to Early College Options?

I recently published a co-authored IERC report on the extent to which Illinois high schools engage in dual credit or dual enrollment. Dual credit or dual enrollment (I’ll use dual credit for consistency purposes) is an arrangement where high school students take college course and earn college credit (and sometimes earn high school credit also) before they transition to college. Based on data from 2003, our report found that the dual credit participation rate among high schools varied from 0% to 88%. I will note that these figures are based on old data and we know dual credit has expanded in Illinois since 2003, so it is likely that many more high schools offer dual credit to larger proportions of students. That said, national estimates based on data from the 2010-11 academic year suggest there is still large variation among high schools.

Our study found differences in high schools’ dual credit participation rate based on high school locale, geographic location within the states, and the composition of the student body. In particular, we found that rural schools, schools in the central and southern parts of the state, and schools with higher proportions of White and middle- and upper-income students tended to have the highest dual credit participation rates. In other words, we found that students’ access to college courses largely depends on the high school they attend. In a separate study of state dual credit policies I conducted for the regional accrediting agencies, my colleagues and I found that most state policies do not require high schools and colleges to offer dual credit, so the decision to build dual credit programs in the high school curriculum is a local decision. 

In my dissertation research (and similar to research conducted outside of Illinois and nationally), I found that dual credit positively impacts desirable outcomes such as college enrollment and college completion. Although this body of knowledge is relatively young, these studies increasingly suggest that access to college courses, college norms, and college expectations may provide positive benefits for high school students. If we believe these data, then the policy and practice community should engage in important conversations about equal accessibility to early college options for ALL high school students—including those attending high schools that have high concentrations of low-income students and students of color and high schools in more urban areas.

This is by far no small task and we offer concrete recommendations in our recent report. However, any task to expand dual credit access should be accompanied by data collection efforts to ensure we understand both the implementation and outcomes of such efforts. This is especially important if the policy goal is to expand dual credit access to different school contexts where contextual factors may influence the intended program outcomes in unanticipated ways. In Illinois, policy and practice has shifted recently in the direction of expansion. For example the Chicago Public School system and City Colleges of Chicago are scaling up dual credit offerings in key subject areas and recently began five Early College High Schools focused in STEM areas. Also, the Illinois Community College Board is holding forums around the state this year and recently provided grant funding to colleges to enhance and/or build dual credit programs. These efforts and similar efforts underway in other states are positive developments for expanding access to postsecondary education, but it will be important to study these efforts to ensure access is equitable and just.

by Jason Taylor

State Policy and College-Level Courses in High School

In the past couple decades, the number of high school students participating in college-level courses has increased drastically. A new NCES study estimates this number to be 2.0 million students in 2010-2011, an increase from 1.2 million students in 2003-2004 (an increase of 66.6%). The same study estimates that 82% of high schools have students participating in college-level courses, often referred to as dual credit, dual enrollment, or concurrent enrollment (I use the term dual credit for consistency).

The proliferation of dual credit translates into more students participating in college and earning college credits before they graduate high school. As dual credit offerings have expanded, questions have been raised related to dual credit quality, the extent to which a larger pool of students is adequately prepared for college courses in high school, and the extent to which dual credit courses are of college rigor. In many instances, high school faculty members, who often serve as adjunct college faculty, teach dual credit courses on high school campuses. There is a lot to unpack with dual credit, but I want to focus on the relationship between dual credit and state policy.

With colleagues from Indiana University and Lake Land College, I just completed a review of dual credit state policies commissioned by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Our purpose was to examine state policies in all 50 states and better understand the relationship between state policy and quality. The report, which is publically available on the HLC website, is being digested and considered by the HLC for future action.

One issue surfaced by our study is the tension between ‘quality’ and ‘access,’ both of which state policies address in various ways across states. Although the purpose of our study was not to examine this tension, our descriptive results lend themselves well to future analysis of this tension. For example, we found that nine states have state policies that either require or encourage dual credit programs to adhere to the quality standards of the voluntary accreditation organization, the National Association for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). Several other states have quality-related policies such as Illinois (Illinois’ policy is the “Dual Credit Quality Act”) or Indiana and Tennessee (Chapter 15, Section 49-15-101), whose policies have many state-level provisions focused on quality standards. So there is very clearly a sector of state policies whose purpose is focused on quality.

At the other end of the spectrum are policies that emphasize access to college courses in high schools. We found that the preponderance of state policies had established policies about which students are eligible to participate in dual credit. These policies often restricted access based on limiting dual credit participation to students in certain grade levels, students with adequate standardized test scores, or students with appropriate course-prerequisites. However, nearly half of the state policies have eligibility waivers (e.g., Kentucky and Missouri) where student certain eligibility requirements can be waived for students as determined by the college faculty or Chief Academic Officer, for example. In some states where students are required to pay tuition, however, state policies provide financial assistance to low-income students (e.g., Connecticut and Indiana). So state policies appear to have different approaches to dual credit access, restricting access for some students based on academic ability and ability to pay, while also providing flexibility in some cases.

The is accumulating evidence about the impact of dual credit (for example, see here, here, and here), suggesting that dual credit participation is related to desirable outcomes such as college enrollment, college persistence, and to a lesser extent, college completion. One missing strand of research, however, is the extent to which state policies related to quality and access influence both which students participate and the outcomes of these students. Although we have observed state dual credit policies expand in the last decade (compared to a 2005 study), including an increased emphasis on promoting quality, there is little evidence about the extent to which specific state policies contribute to student success, increase college access, or even improve student learning. It is this area that is desperately needed for future research to inform our public policies so they work in the best interest of students. 

By: Jason Taylor