The Impact of Early Colleges on Postsecondary Performance and Completion

Abstract

Early colleges are a model of schooling that combines the high school and college experiences, providing students the opportunity to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate degree or 2 years of college credit. This article updates findings from a 17-year longitudinal experimental study of the model, examining the impact of the model on postsecondary performance and completion. The study found positive impacts on overall degree completion, with very large impacts on associate degree completion. There were also positive impacts on bachelor’s degree completion for low-income students and first-generation college-goers. For students who enrolled in a public 4-year institution, the study found positive impacts on advanced coursetaking. There was no difference between treatment and comparison students on final college GPA or on the percentage of students who double-majored. Treatment students who earned a bachelor’s degree did so more quickly than comparison students.