Study details participation in, benefits of college courses in high school
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More and more high schools across the country now offer some college-credit courses, with data from the National Center for Education Statistics showing that 82 percent of schools offer such programs. And nearly half of students participate in those Advanced Placement classes, according to the NCES.
Jefferson Community College’s EDGE program, the College in High School programs offered by the state colleges in Potsdam and Oswego, and Syracuse University’s Project Advance all offer north country high schoolers such opportunities.
New research is providing insight into who takes advantage of college credit courses, and what impact they have on students following their high school graduation.
A report published by the NCES in February studied over 59,000 students who graduated from Minnesota public high schools in 2011. It found that participation in AP and college credit courses for these students “was positively associated with college enrollment, college readiness, and persistence to the second year of college”.
The study showed that students who participate in advanced programs tend to have similar demographics- in that they are less likely to be male, more likely to be white, and less likely to be economically disadvantaged or struggle with academics.
The data suggests that “The size of the differences may be due partly to program eligibility requirements; most acceleration programs likely attracted highly academically qualified students who would have performed well in college regardless of whether they participated in acceleration coursework.”
The rigor of the accelerated courses, and possible costs associated with them, may influence the demographics of students who participate. Some high schools may offer their students college classes at no extra cost, and some may charge.
In order to attract more disadvantaged students to AP or college-credit courses, the researchers who conducted the Minnesota study suggest that “Policymakers might explore whether eligibility requirements for acceleration programs could be relaxed without undermining program efficacy.”
One kind of accelerated program that has proved successful with struggling populations are Early College High Schools, in which students are dual-enrolled in high school and college.
Successful students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree or college credits. Not all accelerated programs reward students with associate’s degrees, and most participating students are not also enrolled in college. Such programs exist in New York, but most are based in the New York City area.
Student participation in accelerated programs also depends on the size and location of a school, and whether courses are offered in the high school or at a separate campus.
According to the Minnesota study, “students in rural high schools participated in concurrent-enrollment courses (where courses are taught at the high school) at a higher rate than did students in non-rural schools.” Offering the courses only on college campuses may present logistical challenges to rural students such as lack of transportation to the campuses. The data showed that twice as many urban or suburban high schools offered accelerated courses compared to rural ones.
For those who can participate in AP or college courses, the benefits have been shown to extend beyond simple college acceptance.
The study showed that of the 2011 graduates who went on to college, participants in acceleration programs were almost three times as likely as non-participants to go on to their second year of college. College completion rates have become a concern to education officials recently as they have declined slightly in recent years.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news03/study-details-participation-in-benefits-of-college-courses-in-high-school-20171229
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