Dual credit courses offer public high schools students the opportunity to take college-level courses and earn postsecondary credits while still in high school. A new report shows that most U.S. high schools are providing these opportunities for students, and many Career Technical Education (CTE) students are taking advantage to gain a head start into postsecondary education.

In Dual Credit and Exam-Based Courses in U.S. Public High Schools: 2010-11, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveals that more than four out of five U.S. high schools report that their students are enrolled in dual credit courses. The report explores enrollment in dual credit courses, eligibility requirements for enrolling in dual credit courses, types of instructors in dual credit courses, and expenses paid by students and parents for dual credit courses. Findings include:

• Half of all high schools reported that students took dual credit courses with a CTE focus (table 4).
• High schools reported about 601,500 enrollees in dual credit courses with a career and technical/vocational focus (table 6).
• Among high schools with students enrolled in dual credit courses, 42 percent reported that students took dual credit courses with a CTE focus taught on the high school campus (table 10).
• High school students enrolled in dual credit courses with a CTE focus were less likely to pay tuition or fees than students enrolled in dual credit courses with an academic focus (table 12).
• For high schools with students enrolled in dual credit courses with a CTE focus taught on a postsecondary campus, 62 percent reported that both high school and postsecondary students were enrolled in the courses – similar to courses with an academic focus (table 15).

View our Dual Enrollment resource for more information on this topic.

Kara Herbertson, Research and Policy Manager  

A new study from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University found that career-focused dual enrollment programs benefit underachieving and underrepresented students.

Broadening the Benefits of Dual Enrollment examines outcomes for over 3,000 California students participating in eight dual enrollment programs over a three year period. The study found that students participating in the program, called the Concurrent Courses Initiative, were more likely to graduate from high school, enroll and persist in four-year colleges, and accumulate more college credits. Participating students are also less likely to require remedial postsecondary courses.

Read the full report here. A brief for practitioners is also available.

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst

At a briefing on Capitol Hill last week, experts gathered to discuss recent research on dual enrollment, a strategy that allows high school students to earn college credits.

Dual enrollment, used widely in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, allows students to experience postsecondary education while getting a head start on college coursework. Research cited by panelists at the briefing suggests that participation in dual enrollment is positively related to college enrollment and persistence, grade point average, and number of credits earned a student.

A study from the City University of New York found that CTE students who completed two or more dual enrollment courses were more likely to enroll in college full-time and earned a higher grade point average than their peers who completed just one dual enrollment course.

Research completed in Florida suggests that the classroom location of dual enrollment courses matters. Students who took dual enrollment courses on a college campus were more likely to enroll in college and attain a degree, whereas students taking dual enrollment classes on a high school campus did not show significantly improved college outcomes.

Panelists also discussed actions for states and schools to take to increase the use of dual enrollment including:

• Eliminating restrictive eligibility requirements
• Expanding outreach to underserved populations by providing tuition free courses for low-income students
• Integrating dual enrollment into high school CTE pathways and programs since participation may positively impact college outcomes for these students

Kara Herbertson, Education Policy Analyst