This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. This brief summarizes the research on dual enrollment programs--programs which allow high school students to enroll in college coursework through a partnering college or university--and offers policymakers a strategy to increase college enrollment and…

Dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) is a research-based framework for rethinking dual enrollment as a more equitable on-ramp to college programs of study that lead to family-supporting, career-path jobs for students who might not otherwise pursue education after college. The DEEP approach involves community colleges and K-12 schools partnering…

This article documents the patterns of White-Black and White-Hispanic enrollment gaps in Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) programs across thousands of school districts in the United States by merging several data sources. We show that the vast majority of districts have racial enrollment gaps in both programs, with wider gaps in AP…

Advanced Placement (AP) and dual enrollment (DE) are the two most popular programs that allow students to earn college credits while in high school. Researchers have noted several benefits of college acceleration programs on students' postsecondary outcomes. Particularly, these programs offer the opportunity to improve college attendance rates…

Aspen and the Community College Research Center studied nine dual enrollment programs across three states--Florida, Ohio, and Washington--that have narrowed or closed equity gaps in dual enrollment for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander students. Based on this research, "The Dual Enrollment Playbook" describes the five…