Exploring Variation in the Impact of Dual-Credit Coursework on Postsecondary Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Texas Students
Giani, Matthew; Alexander, Celeste; Reyes, Pedro (2014). High School Journal, v97 n4 p200-218. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1026262
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examining31,432Students, grades9-12
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2023
- Practice Guide (findings for Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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College completion (Texas institutions) |
Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014) vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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University completion (Texas institutions) - all high school graduates |
Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014) vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
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University completion (Texas institutions) within 4 years |
Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014) vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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College enrollment (Texas institutions) |
Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014) vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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Enrolled in a university (Texas institutions) |
Dual enrollment programs – Giani et al. (2014) vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in public high schools in Texas. The authors used a statewide administrative data source to identify students who took dual credit courses during their junior or senior year of high school and used propensity score matching to select similar students from districts across the state that did not offer any dual credit courses.
Study sample
A total of 31,432 students in grades 11 and 12 were included in the study. The manuscript does not provide information on the sample demographics.
Intervention Group
The intervention condition is comprised of students who took and passed one or more dual credit courses during their junior or senior year of high school. Dual credit courses are offered as a whole class format and can be considered a policy or program. The manuscript does not describe average characteristics of the dual credit courses.
Comparison Group
The comparison group is comprised of students who received business-as-usual course instruction. Some comparison students did take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Specifically, the comparison group is comprised of students who attended public high schools in Texas that did not offer any dual-credit courses during the years of the study and who were matched on a variety of academic and demographic characteristics to students in the intervention group.
Support for implementation
No information about implementation support was provided in the study.
Dual Enrollment Programs Intervention Report - Transition to College
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2017
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for Dual Enrollment Programs.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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College access |
Dual Enrollment Programs vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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College completion |
Dual Enrollment Programs vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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College completion |
Dual Enrollment Programs vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Propensity score matched sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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Persistence |
Dual Enrollment Programs vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
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Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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- B
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Texas
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Race Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study was set in Texas and included 31,432 ninth-grade public high school students in the 2000–01 school year. Data were drawn from the Texas Education Research Center P-20 longitudinal data system. The study had 10 years of longitudinal follow-up data.
Study sample
The authors used the following sample characteristics in the propensity score matching procedure: gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English language learner, gifted, special education, vocational education, and prior achievement. However, the study does not report descriptive information for the total sample or for the two groups, so the demographic characteristics of the sample are unknown.
Intervention Group
The intervention was defined as completion of at least one dual-enrollment course in the state of Texas during the junior or senior year. No specific information about the nature of the dual enrollment courses was provided.
Comparison Group
The comparison condition was created from students who attended schools that did not have access to dual-credit courses in the state of Texas during their junior or senior year.
Support for implementation
The study does not describe any specific supports for the implementation of dual enrollment programs in the study. In Texas, dual enrollment programs are funded at least partly by the state. In addition, all districts in the state are required to provide dual enrollment opportunities.
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