Perhaps the most underutilized public school choice option in our country today is the opportunity for high school students to take college courses and obtain dual credit. Why are these options important?
According to Minnesota public school choice pioneer Joe Nathan and the Center for School Change, dual credit courses:
- Help families save thousands of dollars on college costs
- Increase likelihood that students graduate from high school and enter and complete a post-secondary program
- Reduce the number of students who must take remedial courses upon entering college
Need evidence? Check out the Center for School Change. Here’s a taste:
Closing the Gap: A preliminary University of Minnesota study involving more than 31,000 students found that students from low-income families who took dual credit courses had grade points in the first semester/year that were as high as more affluent students who did not take these courses.
Increasing Graduation Rates: Texas students who took dual credit courses were twice as likely to graduate from high school, and almost twice as likely to enter and to graduate from some form of higher education.
Overall Benefits: A Columbia University study found: “Males, low-income, and low-achieving high school students all appear to benefit from participation in dual enrolment to a greater extent than their dual enrollment peers who enter college courses with more social, economic, and educational advantages.”
Do you have dual credit courses in your state? There is no better time to begin or expand this conversation than National School Choice Week being celebrated right now!
EmberReichgott Junge, Gen Olson, and Kathy Larson Saltzman
