Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

We analyze the rollout of a Statewide Dual-Credit (SDC) program intended to expand access to college-level courses during high school. We find that SDC increased early postsecondary course-taking among students in the middle of the achievement distribution, especially through courses in vocational subjects, without decreasing participation in Advanced Placement (AP). However, SDC was mostly offered by schools already providing courses in similar subject areas and was less frequently offered in small relative to large schools, thus doing little to ameliorate placed-based gaps in course-taking opportunities. Furthermore, a majority of students failed the end-of-course exams necessary to secure college credit, and those who passed closely resemble students who pass AP exams. Low SDC exam pass rates predict school-level discontinuation of SDC courses over and above a range of other factors that reflect student demand and staffing capacity.

Keywords

curriculum economics of education educational policy high schools postsecondary education descriptive analysis econometric analysis policy analysis

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adelman

(1999). Answers in the tool box: Academic intensity, attendance patterns, and Bachelor’s degree attainment. U.S. Department of Education. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED431363.pdf

Alaie

(2011). Early college high schools: Lessons learned in the college science classroom. Urban Education, 46(3), 426–439. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085910377847

Allen

Dadgar

(2012). Does dual enrollment increase students’ success in college? Evidence from a quasi-experimental analysis of dual enrollment in New York City. New Directions for Higher Education, 2012(158), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20010

Altonji

J. G.

Blom

Meghir

(2012). Heterogeneity in human capital investments: High school curriculum, college major, and careers. Annual Review of Economics, 4, 185–223. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080511-110908

B. P.

(2013). The impact of dual enrollment on college degree attainment: Do low-SES students benefit? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 35(1), 57–75. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373712461933

B. P.

Taylor

J. L.

(2019). A review of empirical studies on dual enrollment: Assessing educational outcomes. In Paulsen

M. B.

Perna

L. W.

(Eds.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 34, pp. 99–151). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03457-3_3

Armstrong

E. A.

Hamilton

L. T.

(2015). Paying for the party: How college maintains inequality. Harvard University Press.

Attewell

Domina

(2008). Raising the bar: Curricular intensity and academic performance. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(1), 51–71. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373707313409

Attewell

Heil

Reisel

(2011). Competing explanations of undergraduate noncompletion. American Educational Research Journal, 48(3), 536–559. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831210392018

10.

Autor

(2010). The polarization of job opportunities in the U.S. labor market: Implications for employment and earnings. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-polarization-of-job-opportunities-in-the-u-s-labor-market-implications-for-employment-and-earnings/

11.

Autor

(2015). Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.29.3.3

12.

Autor

(2019). Work of the past, work of the future (NBER Working Paper No. 25588). http://www.nber.org/papers/w25588

13.

Avery

Gurantz

Hurwitz

Smith

(2018). Shifting college majors in response to advanced placement exam scores. Journal of Human Resources, 53(4), 918–956. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.53.4.1016-8293R

14.

Barnard-Brak

McGaha-Garnett

Burley

(2011). Advanced placement course enrollment and school-level characteristics. NASSP Bulletin, 95(3), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636511418640

15.

Barnett

(2018). Differentiated dual enrollment and other collegiate experiences: Lessons from the STEM Early College Expansion partnership. National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching, Teachers College, Columbia University. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/ncrest/publications–resources/Differential-Dual-Enrollment-030518.pdf

16.

Bastedo

M. N.

Howard

J. E.

Flaster

(2016). Holistic admissions after affirmative action: Does “maximizing” the high school curriculum matter? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(2), 389–409. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373716642407

17.

Blankenberger

Lichtenberger

Witt

M. A.

(2017). Dual credit, college type, and enhanced degree attainment. Educational Researcher, 46(5), 259–263. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x17718796

18.

Britton

Chelliah

Symns

Campbell

(2019). College now. . .or later: Measuring the effects of dual enrollment on postsecondary access and success (EdWorkingPaper No. 19–118). Annenberg Institute at Brown University. http://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai19-118.pdf

19.

Carnevale

A. P.

Rose

S. J.

(2011). The undereducated American. Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/the-undereducated-american/

20.

Carnevale

A. P.

Rose

S. J.

(2015). The economy goes to college: The hidden promise of higher education in the post-industrial service economy. Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/the-economy-goes-to-college/

21.

Carnevale

A. P.

Strohl

Ridley

Gulish

(2018). Three educational pathways to good jobs: High school, middle skills, and bachelor’s degree. Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/3pathways/

22.

Chen

(2016). Remedial coursetaking at U.S. public 2- and 4-Year institutions: Scope, experiences, and outcomes (NCES No. 2016–405). U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016405

23.

Ciocca Eller

DiPrete

T. A

. (2018). The paradox of persistence: Explaining the Black-White gap in Bachelor’s degree completion. American Sociological Review, 83(6), 1171–1214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418808005

24.

College Board. (2014). The 10th annual AP report to the nation. https://research.collegeboard.org/programs/ap/data/nation/2014

25.

Conger

Kennedy

A. I.

Long

M. C.

McGhee

(2021). The effect of Advanced Placement science on students’ skills, confidence and stress. Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 93–124. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.1.0118-9298R3

26.

Conger

Long

M. C.

McGhee

(2020). Advanced Placement and initial college enrollment: Evidence from an experiment (EdWorkingPaper No. 20-340). https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai20-340.pdf

27.

Cortes

K. E.

Goodman

J. S.

Nomi

(2015). Intensive math instruction and educational attainment: Long-run impacts of double-dose algebra. Journal of Human Resources, 50(1), 108–158. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.50.1.108

28.

Cowan

Goldhaber

(2015). How much of a “running start” do dual enrollment programs provide students? The Review of Higher Education, 38(3), 425–460. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2015.0018

29.

Cunha

Heckman

J. J.

Lochner

Masterov

D. V.

(2006). Interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation. In Hanushek

E. A.

Welch

(Eds.), Handbook of the economics of education (Vol. 1, pp. 697–812). Elsevier.

30.

Darolia

Koedel

Main

J. B.

Ndashimye

J. F.

Yan

(2020). High school course access and postsecondary STEM enrollment and attainment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 42(1), 22–45. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373719876923

31.

Deming

D. J.

(2017). The growing importance of social skills in the labor market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(4), 1593–1640. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx022

32.

Duncheon

J. C.

Relles

S. R.

(2020). “We’re caught in between two systems”: Exploring the complexity of dual credit implementation. The Review of Higher Education, 43(4), 989–1016. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2020.0028

33.

Dynarski

S. M.

Hemelt

S. W.

Hyman

J. M.

(2015). The missing manual: Using National Student Clearinghouse data to track postsecondary outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37(1S), 53S–79S. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373715576078

34.

Evans

B. J.

(2019). How college students use Advanced Placement credit. American Educational Research Journal, 56(3), 925–954. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218807428

35.

Gagnon

D. J.

Mattingly

M. J.

(2016). Advanced placement and rural schools: Access, success, and exploring alternatives. Journal of Advanced Academics, 27(4), 266–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X16656390

36.

Galla

B. M.

Shulman

E. P.

Plummer

B. D.

Gardner

Hutt

S. J.

Goyer

J. P.

D’Mello

S. K.

Finn

A. S.

Duckworth

A. L.

(2019). Why high school grades are better predictors of on-time college graduation than are admissions test scores: The roles of self-regulation and cognitive ability. American Educational Research Journal, 56(6), 2077–2115. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219843292

37.

Geiser

Santelices

(2004). The role of Advanced Placement and honors courses in college admissions [Research & Occasional Papers Series, Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley]. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED492533.pdf

38.

Giani

Alexander

Reyes

(2014). Exploring variation in the impact of dual-credit coursework on postsecondary outcomes: A quasi-experimental analysis of Texas students. The High School Journal, 97(4), 200–218. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43281031

39.

Grissom

J. A.

Redding

(2016). Discretion and disproportionality: Explaining the underrepresentation of high-achieving students of color in gifted programs. AERA Open, 2(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415622175

40.

Grubb

J. M.

Scott

P. H.

Good

D. W.

(2017). The answer is yes: Dual enrollment benefits students at the community college. Community College Review, 45(2), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552116682590

41.

Gurantz

(2021). How college credit in high school impacts postsecondary course-taking: The role of Advanced Placement exams. Education Finance and Policy, 16(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00298

42.

Hallett

R. E.

Venegas

K. M.

(2011). Is increased access enough? Advanced Placement courses, quality, and success in low-income urban schools. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 34(3), 468–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/016235321103400305

43.

Hemelt

S. W.

Schwartz

N. L.

Dynarski

S. M.

(2020). Dual-credit courses and the road to college: Experimental evidence from Tennessee. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 39(3), 686–719. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22180

44.

Holten

Pierson

(2016). Getting ahead with dual credit: Dual-credit participation, outcomes, and opportunities in Idaho. Education Northwest, Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED570982

45.

Holzer

H. J.

(2012). Good workers for good jobs: Improving education and workforce systems in the US. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 1(5), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9004-1-5

46.

Holzman

Klasik

Baker

(2020). Gaps in the college application gauntlet. Research in Higher Education, 61(7), 795–822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-019-09566-8

47.

Hoxby

C. M.

Avery

(2013). The missing “one-offs”: The hidden supply of high-achieving, low-income students. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2013a_hoxby.pdf

48.

Hughes

K. L.

Rodriguez

Edwards

Belfield

(2012). Broadening the benefits of dual enrollment. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/broadening-benefits-dual-enrollment-rp.pdf

49.

Hussar

Zhang

Hein

Wang

Roberts

Cui

Smith

Bullock Mann

Barmer

Dilig

(2020). The condition of education 2020 (NCES 2020-144). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020144

50.

Iatarola

Conger

Long

M. C.

(2011). Determinants of high schools’ advanced course offerings. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(3), 340–359. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373711398124

51.

Jackson

C. K.

(2010). A little now for a lot later: A look at a Texas Advanced Placement incentive program. Journal of Human Resources, 45(3), 591–639. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25703470

52.

Jacob

Dynarski

Frank

Schneider

(2017). Are expectations alone enough? Estimating the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(2), 333–360. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373716685823

53.

Karp

M. M.

Calcagno

J. C.

Hughes

K. L.

Jeong

D. W.

Bailey

T. R.

(2007). The postsecondary achievement of participants in dual enrollment: An analysis of student outcomes in two states. National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/dual-enrollment-student-outcomes.pdf

54.

Klasik

(2012). The college application gauntlet: A systematic analysis of the steps to four-year college enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 53(5), 506–549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-011-9242-3

55.

Klopfenstein

Lively

(2012). Dual enrollment in the broader context of college-level high school programs. New Directions for Higher Education, 158, 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20015

56.

Kolluri

(2018). Advanced Placement: The dual challenge of equal access and effectiveness. Review of Educational Research, 88(5), 671–711. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318787268

57.

Kreisman

Stange

(2020). Vocational and career tech education in American high schools: The value of depth over breadth. Education Finance and Policy, 15(1), 11–44. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00266

58.

Lochmiller

C. R.

Sugimoto

T. J.

Muller

P. A.

Mosier

G. G.

Williamson

S. E.

(2016). Dual enrollment courses in Kentucky: High school students’ participation and completion rates. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=435

59.

Long

M. C.

Conger

Iatarola

(2012). Effects of high school course-taking on secondary and postsecondary success. American Educational Research Journal, 49(2), 285–322. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831211431952

60.

Long

M. C.

Conger

McGhee

(2019). Life on the frontier of AP expansion: Can schools in less-resourced communities successfully implement Advanced Placement courses? Educational Researcher, 48(6), 356–368. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19859593

61.

Malkus

(2016). AP at scale: Public school students in Advanced Placement, 1990-2013. American Enterprise Institute. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/ap-at-scale-public-school-students-in-advanced-placement-1990-2013/

62.

McEachin

Domina

Penner

(2020). Heterogeneous effects of early algebra across California Middle Schools. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 39(3), 772–800. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22202

63.

Miller

Kosiewicz

Tanenbaum

Atchison

Knight

Ratway

Delhommer

Levin

(2018). Dual-credit education programs in Texas: Phase II. American Institutes for Research. http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/11233.PDF

64.

Monk

D. H.

Haller

E. J.

(1993). Predictors of high school academic course offerings: The role of school size. American Educational Research Journal, 30(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163186

65.

Mullen

A. L.

(2010). Degrees of inequality: Culture, class, and gender in American higher education. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

66.

Page

L. C.

Scott-Clayton

(2016). Improving college access in the United States: Barriers and policy responses. Economics of Education Review, 51, 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.02.009

67.

Pierson

Hodara

Luke

(2017). Earning college credits in high school: Options, participation, and outcomes for Oregon students (REL No. 2017–216). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=433

68.

Piontek

M. E.

Kannapel

P. J.

Flory

Stewart

M. S.

(2016). The implementation of dual credit programs in six nonurban Kentucky school districts (REL No. 2016-136). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=437

69.

Pompelia

(2020). Dual enrollment access. Education Commission of the States. https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Dual-Enrollment-Access.pdf

70.

Ross

N. M. V.

Hemelt

S. W.

(2021). Plants, people, and probabilities: Broadening opportunities to earn college credit in high school and the transition to college [Working Paper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill].

71.

Scott

Thompson

(2019). 2019 Labor and education alignment (LEAP) in-demand occupations report. Center for Economic Research in Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. https://tnecd.com/research-and-data/publications/

72.

Shaw

E. J.

Marini

J. P.

Mattern

K. D.

(2013). Exploring the utility of Advanced Placement participation and performance in college admission decisions. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 73(2), 229–253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164412454291

73.

Smith

Hurwitz

Avery

(2017). Giving college credit where it is due: Advanced placement exam scores and college outcomes. Journal of Labor Economics, 35(1), 67–147. https://doi.org/10.1086/687568

74.

Speroni

(2011a). Determinants of students’ success: The role of Advanced Placement and dual enrollment programs. National Center for Postsecondary Research. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/role-advanced-placement-dual-enrollment.pdf

75.

Speroni

(2011b). High school dual enrollment programs: Are we fast-tracking students too fast? National Center for Postsecondary Research. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/dual-enrollment-fast-tracking-students-too-fast.pdf

76.

Steenbergen-Hu

Makel

M. C.

Olszewski-Kubilius

(2016). What one-hundred years of research says about the effects of ability grouping and acceleration on K-12 students’ academic achievement: Findings of two second-order meta-analyses. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 849–899. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316675417

77.

Stinebrickner

T. R.

Stinebrickner

(2013). A major in science? Initial beliefs and final outcomes for college (NBER Working Paper No. 19165). http://www.nber.org/papers/w19165

78.

Struhl

Vargas

(2012). Taking college courses in high school: A strategy for college readiness. Jobs for the Future. https://www.jff.org/resources/taking-college-courses-high-school-strategy-college-readiness/

79.

Taylor

J. L.

(2015). Accelerating pathways to college: The (in)equitable effects of community college dual credit. Community College Review, 43(4), 355–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115594880

80.

Tennessee Department of Education. (2017a). EPSO implementation guide: Achieving equity, access, and success through a portfolio approach to early postecondary opportunities. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/ccte/eps/EPSO_Implementation_Guide_FINAL.pdf

81.

Tennessee Department of Education. (2017b). Statewide dual credit: Implementation overview. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/ccte/eps/eps_sdc_implementation_guide.pdf

82.

Thomas

Marken

Gray

Lewis

Ralph

(2013). Dual credit and exam-based courses in U.S. public high schools: 2010-11 (NCES 2013-001). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013001.pdf

83.

TN Public Act No. 967. S.B. 2809. (2012). Tennessee 107th general assembly, regular session, Nashville, TN. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/ccte/eps/pc967_dual_credit.pdf

84.

Troutman

D. R.

Hendrix-Soto

Creusere

Mayer

(2018, August 1). The University of Texas System dual-credit study: Dual credit and success in college. https://www.utsystem.edu/documents/docs/ut-system-reports/2018/dual-credit-and-success-college

85.

US Government Accountability Office. (2018). K-12 education: Public high schools with more students in poverty and smaller schools provide fewer academic offerings to prepare for college: Report to the ranking member, Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives. https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/694961.pdf

86.

Warne

R. T.

(2017). Research on the academic benefits of the Advanced Placement program. SAGE Open, 7(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016682996

87.

Warne

R. T.

Sonnert

Sadler

P. M.

(2019). The relationship between Advanced Placement mathematics courses and students’ STEM career interest. Educational Researcher, 48(2), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19825811

88.

What Works Clearinghouse. (2017). WWC intervention report: Dual enrollment programs. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_dual_enrollment_022817.pdf

89.

Solanki

Fink

(2021). College acceleration for all? Mapping racial gaps in Advanced Placement and dual enrollment participation. American Educational Research Journal, 58(5), 954–992. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831221991138

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.12 MB

College Comes to High School: Participation and Performance in Tennessee’s Innovative Wave of Dual-Credit Courses

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material