Dual enrollment, also known as dual credit, allows students to take college courses during high school. Studies have shown that dual enrollment has a positive impact on students' educational attainment. However, dual enrollment is complicated to implement given that it requires a partnership between a high school or district and a postsecondary…

This article highlights the College Level Examination Program -- or CLEP -- from the College Board, as another pathway for students to earn college credits toward degree completion. The renewal of interest in alternative pathways to degree attainment has come about in response to yet another round of national studies reporting declining rates of…

Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Boston is attempting a turnaround and has been for decades. In 2016, after having been designated a Level 4 school by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), a stamp that branded it "underperforming," school officials created a plan they began…

The opportunity to take college courses in high school (dual enrollment) is becoming increasingly prevalent, but access is not equitably distributed. Certain populations, such as economically disadvantaged students and students who are members of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in college, are less likely to take dual…

As originally conceptualized, Early Colleges were small schools focused purposefully on college readiness for all students. Frequently located on college campuses, Early Colleges targeted students who might face challenges in postsecondary education, including students who were the first in their family to go to college, economically disadvantaged…

The growing cost of college is one of the most significant barriers to completion. However, research shows that frequent, intensive advising, combined with financial and other support, can make a tremendous difference in helping students complete. For two years, TICAS has worked with a group of rigorously evaluated organizations across the country…

This study reports on the implementation of Gateway to College, a program whose mission is to serve students who have dropped out of high school, or who are at risk of dropping out of high school, by allowing them to earn a high school diploma and credits toward a postsecondary degree. Gateway to College is uniquely ambitious in providing…

The Success Boston initiative was launched in 2008 specifically to improve Boston public high school graduates' access to and success in college, particularly for members of groups traditionally underrepresented in college degree attainment. Higher college graduation rates, in turn, are expected to increase students' access to employment in such…

Access to middle class jobs increasingly requires a college degree or credential. Individuals with postsecondary education have competitive advantage in the labor market: even when a job does not explicitly require a degree, a candidate with a degree will tend to be hired over an equally qualified candidate without one. Low-income students, in…

There has been considerable interest in British Columbia in improving secondary to post-secondary transitions, and the provincial government and secondary and post-secondary institutions have adopted a number of strategies intended to aid in successful student transition from one system to the other. This paper looks specifically at the policy and…

The Early College High School (ECHS) initiative developed in response to calls to significantly decrease the number of first-generation college and underserved students of color and from poverty who are high school dropouts or marginally graduates (i.e., ill prepared for college). The ECHS model is different from other educational reforms in that…

The nation's public schools serve as the foundation for preparing a workforce that is literate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (The National Academies, 2007). In the report, "Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future," members of The National Academies…

This research is a collection of comparative case studies that examine the perspectives of four principals in their 1st year of implementing the High School College Collaborative (HSCC), which works to provide traditionally underserved high school students with the opportunity to receive college credit, possibly an associate of arts degree,…

In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation started the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI). Through this initiative, more than 200 Early College Schools (ECSs) opened by fall 2009. All of the schools aim to provide underserved students access to college classes while in high school. This article will provide an overview of the first 6…

In 2003, the Early College High School (ECHS) Finance Working Group undertook to determine the costs of planning and implementing early college high schools. This pilot study, reporting on that research, is based on actual budgets developed for current and planned early college high schools. Six budgets are included: three for schools on a public…