Setting the Policy Context
The link between college readiness in high school and subsequent success in postsecondary education has been firmly established.1 While states are adopting more rigorous college and career readiness standards in K–12 education to reinforce this link, increasing rigor is just one necessary step toward improving postsecondary completion. Two others are (1) decreasing the length of time students take to earn a credential, and (2) helping students adjust to the academic expectations of postsecondary education.
Shortening the amount of time students spend working toward a postsecondary credential can reduce their total college costs, which is highly desirable to students, their parents, and policymakers. Equally important is finding convenient and effective ways to ease students’ transition to college coursework. Critically, both of these factors disproportionately affect students from low–income families and/or students who are the first in their families to attend postsecondary education.2 With this in mind, education leaders and policymakers are looking to dual credit and concurrent enrollment (hereinafter referred to together as “dual enrollment”) programs to address these issues.