Each year, millions of high school students take courses and exams to earn college credit and thus get a jump start on college while also satisfying requirements for high school graduation. Although the strength of the evidence varies by program type, evaluation research indicates that earning college credit through common early college credit programs increases students’ chances of going to college directly after high school and earning a college credential.
Research also makes clear, however, that access to early postsecondary opportunities is uneven, with lower rates of participation among students of color, those from low-income families, and students from other groups underrepresented among college graduates.
This report from the Community College Research Center examines research on the five most common college-credit-in-high school models, assessing their potential as large-scale on-ramps to postsecondary programs that lead to career-path employment for students who have not been well served historically in the transition from high school to college and careers.