Early College Opportunities and English Learners Educational Attainment

• In Event: Immigrant Ever–English Learner Students in Higher Education: Policy Levers in Access, Interventions, Interactions, Transfer, and Understanding

Abstract

K-12 EL students lag behind their peers in postsecondary attainment. High school ELs are less likely to take college preparatory classes and are 18 percentage points less likely to graduate in four years. Only 18% of ELs advance directly to four-year colleges, compared to 43% of native English speakers (Kanno & Cromley, 2013). Instead, EL students are more likely to enroll in two-year colleges or not participate in higher education at all (Callahan & Humphries, 2016). As the EL population continues to grow, so does concern over their underrepresentation in higher education.

Research shows that students’ college transition benefits from high school curriculum rigor and support from peer and adult mentors (Berger, et al., 2013; Born, 2006). To expand access to rigorous courses and social support, high schools across the nation now offer dual enrollment programs that provide students with opportunities to earn college credit prior to graduation (An, 2013a, 2013b; Bailey, Hughes, & Karp, 2002). Early College programs, a particularly structured form of dual enrollment, go one step further and give dually-enrolled students academic and social support through advisories and tutoring. Prior studies demonstrate that Early College participation led to an increase in college credit completion and in certificate and associate’s degree completion (Edmunds, et al., 2010). Students also reported benefiting from higher academic and social expectations from the faculty, trusting relationships with caring adults, and accountability among peers.

However, most of the evidence comes from data on native English users. Little is known about the impact of Early College opportunities on EL students (Haskell, 2016). To address this gap, we examine the effects of attending a high school with Early College opportunities on EL students’ academic outcomes. Our research questions are:

1. What is the impact of Early College opportunities on high school graduation rates and college credit completion prior to graduation?
2. What is the impact of Early College opportunities on college attendance after high school and college type (2-year vs 4-year)?

To answer these questions, we apply a differences-in-differences approach to 10 years of administrative records and matched National Student Clearinghouse data from a large urban school district in California. Since the start of the Early College program in 2017, three high schools have enrolled cohorts of 11th and 12th grade students in classes at a local community college. Leveraging this exogenous policy change, we examine the outcomes of pre- and post-program cohorts of students in treated and untreated high schools. The first three years of findings from administrative data, as well as survey and interview responses from high school students and graduates will be reported.

Authors

• Angela Johnson, NWEA

• Diana Gabriela Mercado-Garcia, Stanford University