Early College, Early Success: Early College High School Initiative Impact Study

A recent study from the American Institutes for Research finds positive effects of attending an early college high school on low-income and minority students’ college enrollment, academic performance, and degree attainment.  After more than 10 years of evaluation, results indicate that early college high school students who are given the opportunity to enroll in college courses and receive credit while still in high school are more likely to graduate and enroll in postsecondary education. In this randomized controlled trial, students who were selected to attend one of ten early college high schools were compared to students who entered the lottery for an early college high school but were not chosen and instead attended larger, more diverse high schools.

Among the report’s findings:

• Early college high schools had a statistically significant effect on high school graduation rates — 86% of early college students graduated from high school, while 80.6% of students attending comparison high schools graduated.
• Early college high schools had a statistically significant effect on rates of postsecondary enrollment — 79.7% of early college students enrolled in postsecondary education, compared to 70.5% of comparison students.
  • 59% of early college students had enrolled in a two-year college after high school, versus 38% of comparison students; 53% of early college students enrolled at four-year colleges, versus 47% of comparison students.
• Early college high schools had a statistically significant effect on college graduation rates. One year after high school graduation, 21% of early college students had earned a postsecondary degree (usually an associate’s degree), compared to 1% for comparison students.
• Impact on high school graduation and college enrollment for early college high school students did not appear to differ based on gender, race/ethnicity, family income, or first-generation college-going status.
• The success of the early college high schools might be attributed in part to the supports students receive in preparation for college beyond academically rigorous coursework.
  • Early college high school students reported a significantly stronger “college-going culture” at their school than did comparison students.
  • Early college high school students reported significantly stronger encouragement from teachers than did comparison students.
  • Early college high school students reported significantly more help from school staff in completing college applications than did comparison students.