What students do early college high schools serve? Unpacking social constructions of the target population

To support the nation’s college completion goals, early college high school (ECHS) reform creates opportunities for interested students to earn up to two years of free college credit during high school. ECHSs also have an equity objective: to target and enroll students who are historically underrepresented and/or might not otherwise go to college. Yet the extent to which ECHSs actually serve their target population in practice is unclear, especially in a marketized school environment. Using qualitative methods and the theory of social construction and policy design (Schneider Ingram, 1993), this study explores the recruitment and selection practices at five ECHSs in the borderlands of Texas. Findings suggest that ECHS staff invited applications from the broad target groups. However, the admission process, shaped in part by patterns of self-selection, favored students who were academically inclined and relatively privileged compared to their district peers. ECHS staff socially constructed narrower ideals of the target population than those articulated in the policy design based on their assumptions about who was likely to succeed in—and thus deserving of—an early college opportunity. Findings are discussed with particular attention to the equity implications of ECHS reform.

Ahead of Schedule: A History of Early College High Schools

This history examines the relationship between 21st century early college high schools and a longer tradition of adolescents attending college, uncovering powerful roots, distinctive breaks, and reforged alliances. Why did these schools, designed so students earn up to an associate’s degree before graduation, come into being when and where they did? How have they—and the movement behind them—developed over the course of two decades? The essay closes with a consideration of the contemporary funding landscape and where early college high schools currently fit in the U.S. educational terrain.

“We Are Exposed to That College Environment”: Exploring the Socialization of Early College High School Students

Objective: Early college high schools (ECHSs) allow high school students to accumulate credit toward an associate degree at little or no cost, often through partnerships with community colleges. The goal is to facilitate students’ socialization into higher education, or the process of learning the skills, knowledge, and dispositions required for college success. However, whether and how this goal translates to practice remains under-studied. Using an organizational socialization framework, this study explores (a) How are ECHS students socialized into higher education? and (b) What do students learn from their ECHS experience? Method: This case study draws a sample of 111 traditionally underrepresented students, 13 teachers, and 1 principal at one ECHS in a U.S.–Mexico border region of Texas. Data were collected via interviews, demographic questionnaires, and documents, and coded using NVivo software. Results: Data analysis revealed three themes pertinent to students’ socialization: (a) receiving academic support, (b) taking college courses, and (c) gaining independence. Across these categories, being able to participate in courses at the community college was especially critical for students’ socialization. Findings also illustrate how tensions between the expectations of the college and those of the school district limited the socialization process. Contributions: This study has implications for research and policy regarding the benefits of ECHS and dual credit coursework, the importance of social experiences on a college campus, and the challenges of secondary–postsecondary misalignment in cross-sector partnerships.

“That’s the Point of Going”: A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Experiences of Black Males at an Early College High School

Early college high schools are small schools designed to increase college and career readiness for groups underrepresented in higher education. While some research has focused on student experiences in the early college environment, few have specifically examined the perceptions of Black male students. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Black males in an early college high school. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected using focus groups and individual interviews. Emergent themes included students’ descriptions of their learning environment and the benefits and challenges they experienced. The results of this study provide further insight into early college high schools and how they serve their targeted population.

Early College High School Principals: Preparing Historically Underrepresented Students for College Success

Early college high schools, which allow underrepresented students to earn up to an associate’s degree during 9th through 12th grades, have been lauded for their potential to increase college access and opportunity. Yet little is known about the role of the principal. Using data drawn from 10 administrators in the borderlands of West Texas, this qualitative study uses an instructional leadership framework to explore how early college principals support students’ college preparation at the intersection of secondary and postsecondary education.

Early College High Schools at Scale: Using Administrative Data to Assess the Impacts of an Educational Intervention on Voting and Crime

Early college high schools (ECHS) are small schools of choice which provide students with the opportunity to earn, at no financial cost to them, two years of transferable college credit or an associate's degree while simultaneously satisfying high school graduation requirements. This promising intervention is aimed at smoothing the transition from high school to college for under-represented minorities and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There are about 80 ECHS in North Carolina, although the model is implemented in many other states as well. While much is known from prior research about the impacts of the intervention on educational attainment, nothing is known about longer term outcomes such as employment, wages, criminal involvement, and voting behavior. The present study will briefly describe the data collection process, research methods, and preliminary findings on the effects of the intervention on voting and criminal conviction in North Carolina. We will also present results on whether impacts on long term civic outcomes are mediated by educational attainment. Quasi-experimental impacts have been validated against impacts generated from a randomized controlled trial of the same intervention in a subset of the sites during the same time period. The team assembled personally-identified population level statewide administrative data on all NC high school students (including ECHS) and linked it to records housed at community colleges, universities, the Department of Public Safety (incarceration), and Board of Elections (voting). Together this effort comprises one of the more comprehensive administrative data collection efforts linking student level K-12, postsecondary, and longer-term outcomes.