Early College High Schools: Stepping Up to College During High School Nancy Hoffman, Vice President Jobs for the Future August 11, 2010 \

208 early college schools in 24 states 47,000 students enrolled, with 70% students of color and 59% eligible for free/reduced lunch 25% of 2009 graduates earned two years of credit or an Associate’s degree -- from ECHS open four or more years Graduates earn an average of 23 college credits (AIR/SRI) Large concentration of ECHS in Texas (41), North Carolina (70), Georgia (14), and California (32) Early College: A National Success Story

EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY (AUGUST 2008) 3

The Early College Design

SUPPORTS NEEDED TO ENSURE COLLEGE READINESS FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS 5 Send better & earlier signals about college expectations, especially math and college composition Address overlaps and gaps in curricula & standards from grades 9-14 Get ready for college by doing some college now Create new course sequences that ramp up to college-level work Academic Preparation Motivate students to get prepared for college by making a transparent financial commitment: free college credit as soon as you are prepared to participate; financing to complete a degree or certificate Secure Financing Give academic and social support through last years of high school and the early years of college Build College-Going Academic identity’ restructure the senior year Engage community of adults surrounding students Support RequirementsStrategies

Partnership between SERVE, NCDPI, NC New Schools Project, Duke University, UNCG, Abt Associates, RTI International Four-year experimental study comparing students who applied to and were randomly accepted into the ECHS with students who applied for and were randomly not accepted Participating schools use a lottery to select students out of an eligible applicant pool; many lotteries are stratified to place a priority on the target population SERVE Center: NC Early College Study Overview

*Significant at p≤.001 Impact on College Prep Mathematics Course-taking end of 9 th grade

Findings: –ECHS students report significantly higher levels of academic engagement and greater self-efficacy in math. –Overall, ECHS students report significantly more positive experiences than the control students. –Impacts vary by school. Impact on Students’ Attitudes and Experiences

ECHS outperform district schools on state assessments: AIR/SRI 2009 ECHS students have high school graduation rates: SIS 92% vs 69% ECHS students are outperforming college students in community college: 75% get C or better compared to 70% college students ECHS particularly effective for ESL students: higher gpa, persistence, engagement Other Studies

BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES FOR STATES AND HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS: 1. Hold harmless funding streams for dual enrollment– incentives to participate 2. Substitution of equivalent or more demanding college courses for high school courses 3. Aligned high school exit and college entrance/ placement requirements accepted by higher education 4. Commitment to equitable access and eligibility (which means providing supports) 10