Examining Equity in Dual Enrollment Participation and Outcomes Post AB 288 Implementation: A Quantitative Study

In California, dual enrollment refers to any high school student who enrolls in two systems at the same time, most commonly a community college and a high school—this student is thus concurrently enrolled in both high school and college. Students may receive credit from both systems for select courses. California Assembly Bill 288 (AB 288) established the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Act, which enabled high school and community college partnerships for the purpose of dual enrollment. AB 288 attempts to provide early college access and credit, particularly for students least likely to attend college and those most under-resourced for college success. AB 288 sought to shift dual enrollment away from its historical focus on early college access for students deemed “highly gifted” and instead use the practice as a high school completion and college success strategy. California, through policies like AB 288, has demonstrated significant interest in increasing and scaling effective practices that address disproportionate access and outcomes for historically minoritized communities. However, an examination of the literature reveals both a gap in research and service for programs and interventions meant to support community college participation for underrepresented student populations; those enrolled at continuation high schools among them. In light of the revised mandate to leverage dual enrollment practices as a high school completion, college preparation, and college connection strategy for underrepresented students, these gaps are particularly salient. Using an equity centered framework, this study explores these disparities and provides a deeper understanding of dual enrollment in a large, urban, single-district high school-community college partnership in San Francisco. I investigate rates of access to dual enrollment, college transitions among those who participate in dual enrollment, types of dual enrollment course offerings and success outcomes, and enrollment intensity for students taking dual enrollment courses within this San Francisco partnership. I explore all of these for students from different demographic backgrounds and by high school types (including continuation and alternative schools). Together this provides a useful snapshot of a large local dual enrollment system, deepens the understanding of AB 288’s implementation, and reveals implications for dual enrollment practitioners across California community college and high school district partnerships.