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... INDIANA EARLY COLLEGE RESEARCH BRIEF THE IMPACT OF ENDORSED EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS Early College High Schools open doors of opportunity for Indiana students by allowing them to earn a high school diploma AND the Indiana College Core, an associate degree, a technical certificate, or 15+ dual credits while in high school. COLLEGE-GOING: Early College graduates are 1.4 times more likely to go to college than their peers. Percent of students who go to college: Early College Graduates 76% Indiana Average 53% Based on data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education COLLEGE SUCCESS: Early College graduates more likely to succeed in college. Percent of students who didnt need remediation in college: 97% 92% Early College graduates non-Early College graduates from the same schools Based on data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education GROWTH OF THE EARLY COLLEGE MODEL: Demand for Early College training and endorsement continues to grow Number of endorsed Early College High Schools: 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 55 20 22 25 30 38 45 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 By design, Early College High Schools target students who are typically under-represented in higher education - including first-generation, low-income, and minority students - increasing college access and success. INDIANAS ENDORSED EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS AND STUDENT OUTCOMES CELL.UINDY.EDU/EARLYCOLLEGE Early College Research Brief 1 College Going Success with Indianas Endorsed Early College High Schools Carey J. Dahncke, Ed.D. Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning, University of Indianapolis. I n 2012, Indiana set a goal that 60% of working-age Hoosiers will have a college degree or postsecondary credenal. The state is also involved in a signicant eort to rethink high school. A key strategy in supporng both goals is the states policy and scal support, encouraging colleges and high schools to collaborate around delivering dual credit opportunies. With their ability to oer dual credit and focus on removing barriers between high school and college, Early College High Schools are a proven soluon to improve postsecondary success. This brief looks at recent achievement data to understand the impact of Early College High Schools. What Are Early College High Schools? Early College High Schools allow students to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree, the Indiana College Core, or a technical credenal while in high school. A unique feature of Early College High School (ECHS) programs is the emphasis on ensuring underrepresented students from stascally disadvantaged backgrounds are included and supported. In this way, ECHS programs oer the opportunity to expand access to advanced-level coursework for a student populaon that would not otherwise have access and support to succeed. In Indiana, an increasing majority of these advanced-level coursework opportunies involve dual credit in partnership with a higher educaon instuon. Naonal Research on Early College High Schools Recent large-scale research into dual credit programs has demonstrated an increase in student grade point averages, college enrollment, college persistence, and degree atainment (Schaller et al., 2023), supporng the merit of Indianas policy agenda and iniaves like ECHS programming that increase access to dual credit. Over the last decade, extensive research has shown Early College High Schools oer an eecve school improvement strategy, increasing both college enrollment and college compleon rates (Haxton et al., 2016). Indianas Early College and College-Going Progress Data from the Indiana Department of Educaon and the Indiana Commission for Higher Educaon oer insight into the impact of ECHS programs by comparing Early College graduatesdened as graduates from a CELLendorsed Early College High School who earned 15 or more dual credit hourswith other groups of students. For the 2021 cohort, 53% of Hoosier students went on to college aer high school, while 76% of Early College graduates transioned into college, a 23% dierence in the college-going rate. Early College graduates are 1.4 mes more likely to atend college than the rest of Indianas students. For low-income students who are not 21st Century Scholars, 59% of Early College graduates transioned to college, while only 25% of other students from the same high schools went on to college. This is a marked 34% dierence. This means that low-income Early College graduates are 2.36 mes more likely to atend college. When looking at lowincome Early College graduates who are 21st Century Scholars, 86% of those students atended college aer high school, compared to 78% of 21st Century Scholars who were not Early College graduates. Early College and College Success The Early College High School impact is not simply limited to college enrollment. Once enrolled, approximately 8% of non-Early College graduates needed remediaon during their freshman year in college. However, for Early College graduates, that remediaon rate dropped to 3%. Early College Research Brief Growth of the Early College Model The Early College High School model gained tracon in 2002, when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundaon iniated a naonal eort to develop and promote Early College programs. The goal of this eort was to increase high school graduaon rates and college atendance for historically unrepresented students, making higher educaon more accessible and more aordable. At that me, there were no Early College High Schools in Indiana. In April of 2003, the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis was awarded a $13.7 million grant from the Gates Foundaon to support the creaon of new public and private high schools in Indiana, which included the development of Early College High Schools. By 2005, in partnership with the Naonal Governors Associaon, CELL had incubated 10 Early College High Schools around the state. Three years later, Indianas rst class of Early College High School students graduated from high school, with 100% of the 12 students accepted into four-year colleges and universies. As the popularity of Early College programs grew, CELL launched a framework and evaluaon process in 2008 to ensure that high schools adhered to a set of standards, leading to designaon as a CELL-endorsed Early College High School. While any school can oer an Early College program, endorsed Early College High Schools demonstrate their program quality through a rigorous applicaon and evaluaon program conducted by CELL. Acknowledging CELLs work at the forefront of the Early College landscape, the Indiana Commission for Higher Educaon has authorized CELL as the only organizaon in Indiana to designate schools as Endorsed Early College High Schools. As of January 2024, more than 50 Indiana high schools have undergone the training and evaluaon process, earning the designaon of being called a CELL-endorsed Early College High School. 2 Conclusion The Early College High School model, and endorsed Early College High Schools in parcular, have demonstrated tangible results to advance the state's goals of increasing college readiness and college-going rates. Through rigorous research and analysis, it is evident that Early College programs have posively impacted student outcomes, parcularly college enrollment and compleon rates, with an emphasis on supporng marginalized and economically disadvantaged students. By providing opportunies for students to earn a high school diploma alongside the Indiana College Core, an associate degree, or a technical credenal, Early College High Schools eecvely bridge the gap between high school and college, increasing college-going, reducing the need for remediaon, and enhancing overall postsecondary success. As a proven model, Early College High Schools stand as a crical component of Indiana's strategy to achieve its educaonal objecves, ensuring that more students have access to advanced level coursework and the opportunity to pursue and succeed in higher educaon. References Haxton, C., Song, M., Zeiser, K., Berger, A., TurkBicakci, L., Garet, M. S., Knudson, J., & Hoshen, G. (2016). Longitudinal ndings from the early college high school iniave impact study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(2), 410-430. htps://doi.org/10.3102/016237371664286 1 Schaller, T. K., Routon, P. W., Partridge, M. A., & Berry, R. (2023). A systemac review and meta-analysis of dual enrollment research. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. htps://doi.org/10.1177/152102512311703 31  ...