Dual enrollment participation is associated with an approximately 8.5 percentage point increase in college enrollment probability, with larger gains for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Dual enrollment participation is associated with an approximately 8.5 percentage point increase in the probability of enrolling in college compared to non-participants, an observational association rather than a causal estimate. → Terrell 2026 q2 i? The estimated participation gain is larger for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds (approximately 9.1 percentage points) than for their peers (7.4 percentage points). → Terrell 2026

Evidence¶

Terrell 2026¶

Terrell, J. H., Mathias, J., Blanchard, A., & Roldan-Rueda, D. (2026). The arc of dual enrollment: Access, struggle, and what makes success possible. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED681344

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Analysis of California Department of Education CALPADS administrative data covering approximately 1.74 million students in cohorts 2015-16 through 2018-19. The authors report the association descriptively, noting gains of "approximately 9.1 percentage points, compared to 7.4 percentage points for their peers"; no standardised effect size or test statistic is printed.

"We find that dual enrollment participation is associated with an approximately 8.5 percent- age point increase in the probability of enrolling in college compared to students who do not participate in dual enrollment. For students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds, the estimated gain is approximately 9.1 percentage points, compared to 7.4 percentage points for their peers."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Students who enrolled in dual enrollment and did not pass are about 6 percentage points more likely to enroll in college than comparable students who never took advanced coursework — related
• Not passing a dual enrollment course is associated with an 11-12 percentage point reduction in college enrollment probability compared to passing, with a similar penalty across student groups — related
• Dual enrollment classes taken on college campuses increase students' likelihood of attending college and earning a bachelor's degree — related
• Automatic (opt-out) enrollment policies increase enrollment and success of students of color and low-income students in advanced courses, per research the brief cites — related
• Passing the college algebra placement test near the cut-off and enrolling in dual enrollment college algebra was associated with a 16 percent higher likelihood of going to college — related
• Advanced Placement and dual enrollment participation have similarly positive impacts on student success — related
• Dual enrollment classes taken exclusively on the high school campus show no statistically significant gains in college outcomes — related