Evaluation of the Early College High School Initiative: Select Topics on Implementation

Improving High School Success: Searching for Evidence of Promise

“…However, survey results also indicate that students attending early college high schools are more likely to have college-educated parents than the national average. In 2006-2007, 33 percent of ECHSI grade 10 students had parents who graduated from college, compared with 17 percent of grade 10 students on a nationally representative survey (Berger et al, 2007).…”

“…The ongoing AIR evaluation and other available data provide suggestive evidence that early college high schools can establish personalized learning communities involving students and teachers, based in part on high average attendance rates and other survey-generated and qualitative measures of personalization. It appears that students attending these schools are engaged academically and are taking college courses in sizable proportions, particularly in schools that are new start-ups compared with those converted from existing schools and schools that are physically located on the campus of a two-or four-year institution of higher education compared with those not located on a college campus (American Institutes for Research & SRI, 2009;Berger et al, 2007). ECHSI models also appear to increase the rate at which participants take college-level courses and earn credits while in high school, though students' grade point averages decline over time in high school and after students enroll in postsecondary education (Kim & Barnett, 2008;Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).…”

“…For example, they often incorporate the use of advisories and other formal mentoring structures. Although some dual enrollment programs have entrance requirements, many assist students with poor academic skills and serve students who are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education (Berger et al, 2006). To improve instruction and to prepare students for the world beyond high school, the dual enrollment approach enables students to earn credits towards a high school diploma and a college degree concurrently, thus providing access to more rigorous curricula and instruction (American Institutes for Research, 2007;Hoffman, 2005).…”

Exploring the Principal’s Role in Cross-Sector Partnerships: Sensemaking and Politics in a High-Performing Early College High School

“…Our case illustrates the importance of balancing academic acceleration-whether in ECHS, DC, or other advanced academics-with adolescent development. Relatedly, much of the policy discourse and existing research on ECHSs has tended to focus on quantitative metrics of college success: students earning college credits and associate degrees (Berger et al, 2013;Song et al, 2021). ECHSs are an effective mechanism for conferring free or low-cost college credit and can be an engine for equity when they save underrepresented students time and money (Edmunds et al, 2020).…”