The Impact of Early Colleges on Students’ Postsecondary Education Trajectories: Can Early Colleges Overcome the (Supposedly) Diversionary Role of Community Colleges?

Abstract

Following a sample of students who participated in admissions lotteries at eight Early College High Schools (ECs) partnering with 2-year colleges, this study examined the college enrollment and degree completion of students who won admissions lotteries and enrolled in ECs in Grade 9 (i.e., EC students), and assessed the EC impact—in terms of complier average causal effects—on students’ postsecondary education trajectories for up to 6 years after expected high school graduation (i.e., Year 10). The study found that by the end of Year 10, more than half (55.7%) of EC students had enrolled in 4-year colleges and more than a third (34.1%) had completed a bachelor’s degree. Among the subset EC students who had completed an associate degree or certificate during high school, 57.5% had completed a bachelor’s degree by the end of Year 10. Using an instrumental variable approach, our analyses of complier average causal effects revealed that compliers in the treatment group were significantly more likely than their counterparts in the control group to have enrolled in college each year during the 6 years after expected high school graduation and were significantly more likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree each year between 3 and 6 years after expected high school graduation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that rather than diverting students from pursuing 4-year degrees, ECs partnering with 2-year colleges not only improved students’ chance to successfully complete bachelor’s degrees, but also allowed them to do so on a shorter timeline.