Early College creates pathways to higher education
This data story highlights insights from the Early College
Data
Dashboard on student participation and college credits earned by
semester, school, and partnership.
It describes the program and goals and features two Early College
Designated Partnerships, in the Worcester Public Schools and New Heights
Charter School of
Brockton.
In this story:
Early College Data Dashboard
Explore
the dashboard for data on student participation in Early College
Designated Programs, credits they registered for, and credits earned.
Select the tabs at the top of the dashboard to view data by student
group and trends over time. For best viewing, open the dashboard in a new window.
Key Takeaways
- Early College is expanding. The number of participating high schools increased from 31 to 57 between the fall of 2020 and 2023, while student participation more than doubled from fall of 2021 and 2023.
- With three new partnerships announced in March 2024 and another two approved in June, 55 designated partnerships are expected to serve more than 9,000 Massachusetts high school students in 2024-2025.
- A majority of Early College participants registered for at least one college course per semester. Since the fall of 2022, the credit passing rate has slightly increased from 85% to 88%.
Early College prioritizes participation by students historically underrepresented in higher education. In the fall of 2023:
- 41% of participants were Hispanic or Latinx, compared to 25% of the statewide high school student population
- 18% of participants were Black, compared to 10% of students statewide
- 58% of Early College participants were in low-income households
What is Early College?
Early College
provides an opportunity for high school students, particularly those
historically underrepresented in higher education, to complete at least
12 college credits in a supported, guided academic pathway while still
enrolled in and supported by their high school.
Early
College serves more students in a more comprehensive way,
differentiating it from other dual enrollment programs. It builds in the
on-ramping, skill-building, and “college knowledge” students need to
build a pathway to higher education.
Participating high
schools and their partners in higher education work together to provide
dual-credit college-level courses along with the requisite materials,
college preparation, advising, and academic support needed to succeed —
at no cost to the students or their families.
Early
College was established in Massachusetts in January 2017 as a joint
initiative of the boards of Elementary and Secondary Education and
Higher Education. They outlined five guiding principles:
- Promote equitable access
- Create guided academic pathways
- Provide enhanced student support
- Make connections to career
- Foster effective partnerships
The Early College Joint Committee, with members from both boards including the Secretary of Education, steers the program.
Nationally, the Early College High School Initiative
(ECHSI) was established in 2002. Early college programs have expanded
rapidly nationwide over the past two decades.
This interactive map marks locations of Early College programs nationally. Hover
over a colored dot on the map to reveal the designation and school model,
program/school name, and zip code. Select the left facing arrow at the bottom
of the map to reset. Source: American
Institutes for Research
Why is it important?
Early
College provides students across the Commonwealth with expanded access
to institutions of higher education. By prioritizing communities with
high populations of historically underrepresented students, it may open
doors for students who never considered college as an option.
Participating students benefit from a free and accelerated path to
completing a college degree and exposure to a variety of career
opportunities.
Growing the state’s college-educated workforce is an economic priority.
Population trends and outmigration indicate Massachusetts will
experience a shortage of skilled workers. The nonpartisan research
organization MassINC estimates the state’s working-age college-educated
population will fall by approximately 192,000 residents, or 10%, by
2030. (MassINC, 2023)
Early College has been identified as a promising
initiative to narrow educational gaps and increase college completion.
Research from other states has shown that Early College students are
more likely to enroll in college and complete a postsecondary degree
within six years of graduating high school. (AIR, 2019)
Early College has had a significant effect on enrollment
in Massachusetts public colleges and universities. While overall
enrollment in the public postsecondary system increased in fall 2023 for
the first time after a decade of declines, the enrollment of Early
College students has been steadily increasing year after year since the
program launched in the fall of 2018. Early College and dual enrollment
students represent a growing share of all undergraduate students at
Massachusetts public institutions, rising from 3% in fall 2018 to 8% in
fall 2023.
The visualization above shows the increase in dual enrollment and
Early College students at Massachusetts community colleges, state
universities and UMass campuses from 2009 to 2023. Hover over the graph
for additional information. Source: Massachusetts Department of Higher
Education analysis of data from the Massachusetts Higher Education
Information Resource System (HEIRS)
Equity Lens
With
the opportunity to earn at least 12 college credits while still in high
school, Early College students can complete a degree with less time and
cost. This helps narrow the opportunity gap for students in low-income
households and students of historically underserved communities and
groups.
Students in low-income households comprised 58% of Early College participants in fall 2023, up from 54% a year prior.
The
dashboard detail, Program Participation by Semester, shows the number
of Early College participants in low-income households (yellow line)
increasing faster than students who are not low income (pink line) since
fall
2022.
How are schools implementing Early College?
Designated Early College Partnerships are designed to meet
the needs of students in a school or community and can look quite different across
the state. Partnerships include at least one public high school or public charter
school and at least one public or private institution of higher education. They
may be set up as an Early College cohort within a larger school or as a
wall-to-wall program where all students are enrolled in Early College. Two programs are highlighted here.
Early College Worcester
The
state’s largest Early College partnership provides students at all
seven high schools in the Worcester Public Schools with access to
college courses at both Quinsigamond Community College and Worcester
State University. Established in 2018 with about 100 students, Early College Worcester has grown to serve 923 students in fall 2023. This partnership accounts
for more than 10% of Early College participants statewide.
The dashboard view shows the participation detail for Worcester's seven public high schools in the fall of 2023.
Early
College Worcester stands out for its flexibility in design and close
communication among partners. The program is open to all Worcester
Public School students, grades 9-12, regardless of GPA. Students can
take classes at either institution in fall, spring, and summer sessions,
and choose among college classes offered within the high schools during
the school day. A mentorship program connects high school participants
with college students who help them navigate the college experience.
The Early College Worcester team meets weekly to plan and
review programs. The team is working to increase participation in the
program, expand course offerings to meet student needs, and to support
guidance counselors who are preparing and advising students for Early
College.
They use data to:
- Compare participation to school enrollment numbers to identify gaps by gender, race and ethnicity. Participation has skewed heavily female, for example, though the gap narrowed by about 5 percentage points in fall 2023.
- Break down participation by school and grade for a detailed picture of where to focus recruitment. In fall 2023, more seniors participated in Early College Worcester than all other grades combined. In response, the team has planned summer sessions on the college campuses and a “First Year Experience” course to orient rising 9th and 10th graders.
- Look at course-taking trends to evaluate and expand offerings. Students may select from a variety of college courses offered at their high school site and both college campuses. Advisors help students connect the courses to college or career Pathways.
New Heights Charter School of Brockton
This Brockton public charter school,
serving students in grades 6-12, operates a wall-to-wall Early College
program in partnership with Massasoit Community College. This means
nearly all of the approximately 400 students in grades 9-12 participate
in Early College. Close to 100% earn 12 college credits or more, and
more than half earn associate's degrees or at least 60 college credits
by their high school graduation.
The dashboard view shows New Heights' Early College program overview
for spring 2023, the most recent semester for which credit information
is available. New Heights had 386
students in the Early College program in the spring of 2023. In total, they
registered for 2,073 credits—a quarter of students registered for 10 or more —
and achieved a 94% passing rate.
As a public charter school, admission to New Heights is
lottery-based. Its student population is 86.8% Black or African
American, 7.3% percent Hispanic or Latinx, and 4.2% multi-racial,
non-Hispanic. Three out of four students are identified as high needs,
17.1% are English learners, and 11.6% identify as having disabilities.
Participation and passing rates among English learners
and special education students are a particular point of distinction for
the New Heights program.
- 80% of English learners (New Heights uses the term multi-language learners or MLL) in the Class of 2023 graduated with 12 or more college credits, while 40% accumulated 30 or more credits, and 20% earned 60-plus.
- 40 students with disabilities registered for 84 college credits and achieved an 85% passing rate.
The
bar chart measures the percent of New Heights' Class of 2023 that
graduated and accrued 12 or more, 30 or more, and 60 or more college
credits, disaggregated by special education and multi-language learner
student groups. Source: New Heights Charter School of Brockton
To achieve these outcomes, college preparation begins in grade 6.
New Heights doubles up on math and ELA in the middle school class
schedule to help build the academic foundations for college-level
coursework, along with history, science, and electives. Many students
begin taking one to two college courses per semester in 9th and 10th
grades and become full-time college students in their junior and senior
years.
But the on-ramp is different for each student. The New
Heights Early College team uses internal data on academic achievement,
maturity level, and executive functioning skills to evaluate each
student’s readiness for college. Students enrolled in college courses at
Massasoit also take companion courses at New Heights on alternate days
to reinforce lessons, allow more time for assignments, and provide extra
support. A Multi-Tiered System of Support identifies students for individualized goal setting, monitoring, and interventions.
Where can I find an Early College program?
Use the Massachusetts School Finder to search for schools near you that offer Early College.
Early College is one of four State Designated Pathways
supported by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to prepare students for success after high school. Other
Pathways include:
- Career Technical Education, vocational technical programs offering at least 900 hours of immersive coursework and work-based learning
- Career Connections, a series of two or three courses plus work-based learning experiences in a specific industry or field
- Innovation Career Pathways, a 100-hour internship or capstone experience and two AP or dual enrollment courses related to continued study in an industry or field
Select a school on the Massachusetts Pathways Mapping tool to see which Pathways programs are in proximity.
What's next for Early College?
Recently, the state’s Early College program underwent a
strategic review, and policy recommendations are forthcoming. The Office of
Early College is working with the American Institutes for Research to more
fully integrate both qualitative and quantitative data into the processes for
designation, program reviews, and redesignation application requirements. This
work includes analyses from the Early College dashboard data on enrollment,
demographics and credit completion, plus longer-term outcomes such as college
matriculation and degree attainment, all of which can be disaggregated to
ensure underrepresented students are able to achieve the same outcomes as their
peers.
The Early College dashboard will continue to iterate. For
example, longitudinal data on student outcomes in Massachusetts, including
college enrollment and persistence after high school graduation, will be added
to the dashboard later in 2024.
Tips for using the dashboard
- Use the dropdown menus to select a semester and one, multiple or all partner K-12 schools and institutes of higher education (IHE)
- Start typing in the search fields to quickly find a school or institution
- Results are not shown if there are fewer than 6 students in a selected group, to protect student privacy
- "Institution where credits are earned" shows where a student earned credits, which is sometimes at the designated partner school but also includes credits earned at other institutions if a student took classes outside the designed partnership
Related datasets
References
Forman, Ben and Simone Ngongi-Lukula. “Early College as a Scalable Solution to the Looming Workforce Crisis.” MassINC, May 2023.
Lundy, Kasia and Chris Librizzi. “Breaking Down Silos to Put Students on the Path to Success: The promise of early college in Massachusetts.” Parthenon-EY Education practice, December 2016.
Song, Mengli and Kristina L. Zeiser. "Early College, Continued Success: Longer-Term Impact of Early College High Schools." American Institutes for Research, September 2019.
By Danielle Kane, June 27, 2024