The Parkway Center City Middle College, Philadelphia's first early/middle college, is overcoming challenges and showing positive early outcomes for students. At Philadelphia's Parkway Center City Middle College, students can step into a college classroom at age 14, and can earn up to 64 credits by the time they graduate. This piece details the…

The news is full of growing doubt about the ability of the higher education systems to provide people with paths to a good life. Crushing loan debt, low completion rates, and an uncertain return on investment are among the concerns. Low-income young people, who have the most to gain in earnings from a college degree, fare the worst. Since 2002, an…

Intermediaries that design and build work-based learning delivery systems believe that postsecondary credentials--certifications and degrees (both associate's and bachelor's)--are a requirement for most good jobs. Indeed, such credentials increase access to economic mobility and, ultimately, greater equity. When coupled with work-based learning…

This resource clarifies the roles intermediaries play in college and career pathways systems. It can be useful for envisioning a brand-new organization or strengthening the intermediary functions of an existing organization. Your organization can use this guide during a strategic planning process or at any time to reflect on its practices, shift…

For over a year, stories of economic devastation, food and housing insecurity, and the challenges of remote learning have dominated headlines as the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in dramatic changes for education, businesses, and communities. In the Columbus, Ohio region, the pandemic widened existing inequalities, as it did across the rest of the…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Dual Enrollment for Students from Special Populations: Improving College Transitions for English Learners, Students with Disabilities, Foster Youth, and Young People Experiencing Homelessness." Interest in dual enrollment is rising in California and nationwide, but students from special…

This report examines the structural divide between for-credit and noncredit postsecondary education and the problems it presents for people seeking better jobs with higher pay. It highlights innovative ways that some community colleges are trying to bridge the gap nationally--creating more seamless pathways between credit and noncredit…

Interest in dual enrollment is rising in California and nationwide, but students from special populations--including English learners, students with disabilities, foster youth, and young people experiencing homelessness--are too often left on the sidelines. This report explores promising practices and recommendations for designing dual enrollment…

As demand for a highly educated and skilled workforce grows, many governors have made student college and career readiness a priority in 2012. In their State of the State addresses, governors in Mississippi, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin promoted the expansion of dual enrollment programs as a key strategy for strengthening academic…

More than 200 early college high schools serving 50,000 students have opened across the United States since 2002--and they are achieving results. Eighty-six percent of early college graduates enroll in college immediately after high school, compared with two-thirds of high school graduates nationwide. Of the 3,000 early college graduates in 2009,…

Across the nation, early college schools are creating a path to college success for young people underrepresented in higher education. For a decade, these innovative public schools blending high school and college have proven that, with the right support, all high school students can tackle college work. Now, a Texas school district near the…

The Hidalgo Independent School District (ISD) in Texas has raised the bar on what it means for a school system to focus on college readiness. This paper tells the story of how Hidalgo ISD, located in one of the most economically depressed metropolitan areas with one of the lowest number of college-educated adults, is preparing all of its students…

Calls for improved outcomes in U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education are frequent and insistent. In 2009, the Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, convened by the Institute for Advanced Study and Carnegie Corporation of New York, concluded that: "Knowledge and skills from science, technology, engineering…

In 2003, the Early College High School (ECHS) Finance Working Group undertook to determine the costs of planning and implementing early college high schools. This pilot study, reporting on that research, is based on actual budgets developed for current and planned early college high schools. Six budgets are included: three for schools on a public…