By the Numbers: Dual Enrollment
High schoolers, feeling unprepared for college and the workplace, take college courses.
Forty percent of high school graduates feel inadequately prepared for college or the workplace, according to a report by Achieve's American Diploma Project. Chief concern: Their courses are not aligned to college and career standards.
One solution is dual enrollment, wherein high school seniors take courses that give college credit.
Dual enrollment is no longer just for talented high schoolers hoping to get a jump on college. Such programs can serve as an on-ramp to postsecondary education for students who are otherwise unlikely to attend college, according to Jobs for the Future.
Taking college courses increases a student's academic readiness, while free college credits make earning a postsecondary degree more affordable.
Several states are working on expandable dual-enrollment policies, including Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.