Dual Enrollment

How It Works

Dual enrollment has grown dramatically over the past two decades and is now available in all 50 states, though program structures vary widely. Approximately 1.4 million high school students participate in dual enrollment annually, and the number continues to grow. Students may take courses at a local college campus, at their high school taught by qualified high school teachers, or online through a partnering college. Dual enrollment offers several advantages over Advanced Placement: students earn guaranteed college credit (AP credit depends on the score and the receiving college's policy), courses are taught using college syllabi and expectations, and students gain familiarity with the college environment and academic culture. Research consistently shows that dual enrollment participants are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college, persist through college, and earn a degree, even after controlling for prior academic achievement and demographic factors. The benefits are particularly strong for first-generation college students and students from low-income families, for whom the college experience during high school can demystify higher education and build confidence. Not all dual enrollment programs are equally rigorous, however, and there are concerns about course quality when college courses are taught in high school settings. On OpenSchoolData, school profiles note dual enrollment availability when reported in NCES data, recognizing that schools offering this pathway provide students with valuable college preparation and credit-earning opportunities.

Related Terms

• Advanced Placement (AP), College-level courses offered in high schools through the College Board, allowing students to earn college credit by passing a standardized AP exam scored on a 1-5 scale.
• College Readiness, The level of academic preparation a student needs to succeed in credit-bearing college coursework without remediation, typically measured by SAT/ACT scores, AP participation, and course rigor.
• Graduation Rate, The percentage of students who earn a regular high school diploma within four years of entering ninth grade, calculated using the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) method required by federal law.