Early College, Continued Success: Longer-Term Impact of Early College High Schools
Song, Mengli; Zeiser, Kristina L. (2019). American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED602451
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examining2,458Students, grades9-12
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: March 2024
- Practice Guide (findings for Dual Enrollment Programs)
- Additional source not reviewed because it is not the primary source for the study (View primary source).
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
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
Study sample characteristics were not reported.Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2020
- Single Study Review (findings for Early College High Schools)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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college enrollment within 1 year of high school graduaton |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
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63.80 |
23.00 |
Yes |
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|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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Enrollment in a two-year college within 1 year of high school graduaton |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
48.90 |
11.30 |
Yes |
|
||
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Enrollment in a four-year college within 1 year of high school graduaton |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
22.30 |
9.10 |
No |
-- | ||
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enrolled in 2-year college |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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65.80 |
46.80 |
Yes |
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||
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enrolled in college |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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84.20 |
77.00 |
Yes |
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enrolled in 4-year college |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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57.60 |
56.70 |
No |
-- | ||
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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postsecondary degree attainment within 6 years after high school graduation |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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45.40 |
33.50 |
Yes |
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|
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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completion of an associate's degree or certificate 6 years after high school graduation |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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29.30 |
11.10 |
Yes |
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||
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completion of a bachelor's degree within 6 years after high school graduation |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
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30.10 |
24.90 |
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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Female: 52%
Male: 48% -
Rural, Urban
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North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah
Study Details
Setting
An Early College is a program through which high school students can take college-level courses and obtain credit at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. This study involved 10 Early Colleges located in five states: North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Five of these Early Colleges were located in urban areas, two were in midsized cities, and three were in small towns. Eight of the Early Colleges in this study partnered with 2-year colleges, and two partnered with 4-year colleges.
Study sample
The study sample included 2,458 students who were randomly assigned to an Early College or a typical high school when they were in grades 9-12. Approximately half of the sample was female, half was non-White, and half was eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Less than a quarter of the study participants were first-generation college students.
Intervention Group
The Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) is a dual enrollment program, which aims to help underrepresented students by offering them the opportunity to take college-level courses and have associated credits counted both at the high school and postsecondary levels. To implement the program, Early Colleges partner with postsecondary institutions and arrange for all tuition costs to be covered. The intervention includes providing academic and social supports to ensure that students earn one or two years of college credit and thereby improve their chances of completing college.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition attended different high schools after participating in lotteries used to determine if they could attend an Early College.
Support for implementation
Early Colleges are meant to be sustained by a postsecondary institution, a local education agency, and community supports.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
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The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
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Study findings for this report.
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