High school students’ failure rates in dual enrollment classes offer compelling insights into the role socioeconomic status plays and the likelihood of future college attendance.
Socioeconomically disadvantaged students were more likely than their classmates to fail dual enrollment courses—across all levels of prior academic achievement, according to “Course Failure in Dual Enrollment and the Impact on College-Going,” an analysis of approximately 1.74 million California public high school students by Jenna Terrell, senior research manager at WestEd, and Dr. Joanna Mathias, senior research associate at WestEd.
In a pattern the researchers called “the preparation paradox,” the gap widened significantly when comparing higher-achieving students from both socioeconomic groups.
But if lack of academic preparation was not a factor in the failure rates of socioeconomically disadvantaged gifted SED students, then what was? The research paper suggests these learners need stronger support from college systems, including robust advisory resources, financial guidance, stronger academic integration, and more flexible eligibility standards.
Further insights from the Annenberg Institute show what is at stake if the struggles of these high-achieving students go unaddressed. All students who failed dual enrollment course were less likely to enroll in college, the data, found.
However, in what was probably its most surprising discovery, the study noted that students who failed a dual enrollment course were still more likely to attend college than those who never took a college-level class.
While more work is needed to support economically disadvantaged students taking dual enrollment classes, it is also clear that dual enrollment is a proven incentive for a subsequent college career.
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