Broadening the benefits of dual enrollment: reaching underachieving and underrepresented students with career-focused programs

This new [Community College Research Center] CCRC study suggests that career-focused dual enrollment programs - in which high school students take college courses for credit - can benefit underachieving students and those underrepresented in higher education. The study found that California students who participated in dual enrollment were more likely than similar students in their districts to graduate from high school, enroll in four-year colleges, and persist in college. They also accumulated more college credits and were less likely to take remedial classes. The three-year study, funded by The James Irvine Foundation, examined the outcomes of almost 3,000 students participating in eight dual enrollment programs across California. Sixty per cent of participants were students of color, 40 per cent came from non-English speaking homes, and one third had parents with no prior college experience.

Abstract from Community College Research Center website. Show less