Is Dual Enrollment About What You Learn or the Credit You Earn? Regression Discontinuity Evidence on College Access

• In Event: 67.069 - Sheraton Roundtable 14 - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 67.069-8 - Evidence From College Access Interventions

Abstract

Dual-enrollment courses, in which students are eligible to earn high school and college credit for the same course, have become one of the most prominent strategies for preparing students for college. However, limited research has examined the importance of performance in dual-enrollment courses, and specifically whether students are eligible to receive college credit, on students’ eventual college-going. This study exploits the discontinuity in credit eligibility around grade thresholds to estimate the impact of credit eligibility on college enrollment using data from a large dual-enrollment program in Texas. The results show that students who perform better in dual-enrollment courses are more likely to go to college, but the causal effect of credit eligibility on college enrollment is minimal.

Author

• Matt Giani, The University of Texas at Austin