Over the last decade, landmark legislation, multi-million-dollar investments, and the research, policy, and advocacy communities have helped inform and support the growth of dual enrollment in California. Dual enrollment, or taking college courses while in high school, can also give students greater access to math--a core subject that has long…

Research shows that dual enrollment--a practice in which high school students take college courses while they are still in high school--has multiple benefits for student success in both systems. To capitalize on those benefits, California and other states have moved in recent years to increase high school students' access to college courses. In…

Academic preparation is a key factor in readiness for college-level work. Students who enroll in rigorous courses while in high school realize better secondary and postsecondary outcomes. Evidence from California suggests that rigorous learning opportunities may not be equally distributed across the state, prompting questions about course…

Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits that can provide a valuable head start toward a college degree. The practice has multiple benefits for students in both systems, improving college preparation and increasing efficiency toward completion of degrees and certificates. Many states--including…

In dual enrollment programs, high school students can take college courses and earn both high school and college credit--but in the past, dual enrollment had been used mostly by high-achieving students. In 2016, the California Legislature passed a law that expanded access to students who had been underserved in higher education. The resulting…

Dual enrollment, which provides opportunities for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs. State leaders have recently increased support for dual enrollment, and the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a…

Dual enrollment provides opportunities for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit. The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a surge in participation across the country, and equity-centered legislation has raised dual enrollment's profile in California. Because California's public K-12 schools serve large shares of students…

Some states have enacted inclusive policies that reduce constraints and uncertainty for undocumented students, potentially changing their academic decisions and postsecondary goals. We explore shifts in continuing undocumented community college students' course-taking before and after the California DREAM Act, which provided access to state…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been painful, and its long-term negative impacts on equitable educational outcomes will unfurl for years to come. However, in spite of the disruption of the pandemic, education leaders have an opportunity to re-imagine and rebuild systems to be equity-centered in ways they have never been before. Dual enrollment holds…

Community colleges strive to fulfill the unique needs of military service members, veterans and their families, a mission harkening back to wartime and the decades in which the nation's fighters were off the battlefield. Educating the nation's servicemen and women has long been a core undertaking of many community colleges, particularly in regions…

College Promise programs--initiatives designed to guarantee tuition and fees for eligible students--have swept across the country, unlocking the opportunity of higher education for students in more than 200 communities across 44 states, including 16 statewide programs that have passed through legislation or executive orders. These forward-thinking…

Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education Commission of the States 2019). However, historically it has been accessible only to high-achieving students taking…

These are the appendices for the report, "Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment." Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education…

In the classic game of "Chutes and Ladders," the player can see square 100--the finish line--but it is not easy to get there. The player may climb one ladder only to land on the wrong spot and be sent spiraling down a chute. In the game, players are aiming for the blue ribbon on square 100, but for students enrolling in college, the…

The California Community Colleges (CCC) are central to the economic strength and social mobility of California and its residents. They serve the majority of undergraduates in California. Each year, over 2 million students attend one of the 116 community colleges across the state, including the online campus--Cal Bright. Like "Chutes and…