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Concurrent Enrollment: National Trends & Research

For over two decades, concurrent enrollment has been one of the best kept secrets of high school reform. Fortunately, it is no longer a secret. The National Center for Education Statistics conducted two national surveys in 2002-03, querying both high schools and postsecondary institutions about the scope of concurrent, or dual, enrollment in the United States. NCES reports that during the 2002-03 12-month school year, there were 855,000 enrollments in dual credit courses taught on a high school campus" ("Dual Credit and Exam-Based Courses in U.S. Public High Schools: 2002-03," p. 7.)

Organizations as varied as the American Youth Policy Forum, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National Governors' Association have recently called for the expansion and support of dual enrollment programs as part of a strategy to improve high school rigor, reduce "senioritis," and challenge all high school students.

Excerpts from recent research and policy

The excerpts below are from reports these and other organizations have issued. They illustrate a growing understanding of the value of concurrent enrollment and the high school - college partnerships involved.

NB: The excerpts below represent only a small fraction of the growing body of national research focused on concurrent enrollment. For an extended annotated bibliography of recent research and reports, go to www.cce.umn.edu/cis/research/concurrent.html.)

• "Less than 20 credits by the end of the first calendar year of enrollment [in college] ... is a serious drag on degree completion....It is all the more reason to begin the transition process in high school with expanded dual enrollment programs offering true postsecondary course work so that students enter higher education with a minimum of 6 additive credits to help them cross that 20-credit line. Six is good, 9 is better, and 12 is a guarantee of momentum." The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School through College; U.S. Department of Education, 2006, Page xx.

• "...National Governors Association encourages state and federal support for "strategies [that] increase student participation in college preparatory courses, better align expectations between high school and postsecondary education, and ensure students graduate from high school ready for college or the workplace" (p. 1). Specific recommendations include an increase in professional development opportunities for secondary school teachers, increased collaboration between secondary and postsecondary educators to improve school rigor, and "Federal policies [which] encourage - not discourage - promising state efforts in dual enrollment programs that permit students to obtain college-level credits...while still in secondary school." High School Reform to Lifelong Learning: Aligning Secondary and Postsecondary Education, 8/10/2006, National Governors Association, p. 2.

• "States can respond to this [need for increased academic rigor] by developing policies that are targeted at increasing the rigor of the [high school] curriculum including establishing a core curriculum that is aligned with college admission standards, developing an accelerated high school curriculum, and concurrently providing incentives or financial support for students to take more rigorous courses or accelerated learning opportunities through the AP program, the International Baccalaureate program, or dual enrollment." Advancing High School Reform in the States; National Association of Secondary School Principals; 2005; p. 5.

• "From our perspective, these programs [AP, IB, and dual enrollment] are high value programs, because they provide many of the important elements that have been missing from high school for most students: challenge, engagement, access to the adult world, and support." The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Post Secondary Education For Success for All Students; American Youth Policy Forum; September 2006, p. vii.

• "Dual credit programs are growing nationwide, thereby increasing high school students' options for earning college credits. This growth should be encouraged and access to these programs by all qualified students should be facilitated by state policy." Enriching the High School Curriculum Through Postsecondary Credit-Based Transition Programs; Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, Volume 4, No 2. 2006.