By Senor K
The once strict divide between high school and college is being breached by a new type of school that offers credits in both.
Since the beginning of time the path to higher education has been a pretty standard route. You start in elementary school, go to middle and high school, fill out a bunch of applications senior year, graduate from high school, and finally go off to college.
The need for change
One big push to solve this problem is changing the institutional transition between high school and college. Instead of the traditional model of educational progression where students finish high school and then subsequently attend college, many high schools are instead starting to offer college credits years before graduation. It's still a little early to do a full evaluation of the success of this model, but early research so far has shown pretty significant and successful growth in graduation rates and especially students from lower income families.
The Concept
Back in 2002, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife donated 40 million dollars to launch a new initiative called Early College High School. The purpose of this new approach to secondary education would be to “ launch a network of small high schools that would provide college courses and credit to low-income students.” At issue was the fact that college graduation rates for students who come from lower income backgrounds are often significantly lower than wealthier peers. The idea was that if these less wealthy students could start the college process both before graduation and for free their college completion rates would improve.
To help students even further early on, students meet with a counselor and investigate various career ‘pathways’ such as medicine, business or technology. Then students complete coursework in that field and graduate high school with a diploma and an Associate’s Degree. This degree is equivalent to completing two years of college so graduates of these Early College High Schools (ECHS) can complete a bachelor’s degree with only two more years of coursework. These pathways are also designed to reflect the needs of the 21st century job market and are created in consultation with major local employers. Cybersecurity and biotechnology, for example, are two fields where there is huge demand for skilled workers and many ECHS’s offer specialized programs in those fields.
Success
Do ECHS succeed in raising college graduation rates? The early evidence is a pretty strong ‘yes!’ Early college high schools have only been around for about 20 years, so more analysis still needs to be done. However, one major study found that students from ECHS “were significantly more likely” to attend college than students who went to traditional high schools. Other metrics significantly improved as well such as both high school and college graduation rates.
And the concept is starting to expand. Even though traditional high schools still dominate school districts nationwide there are today more than 230 early colleges in 28 states that serve over fifty thousand students.*
The model we have used for decades to organize America’s school system dates back to the German model of the late 19th century; so an update has definitely been overdue. Today, with the expansion of charter, vocational, online and now early college high schools, the opportunities for students from all backgrounds to find a path toward educational achievement are finally starting to look more promising.
* A quick search online can give you more info about ECHS in your area if you are interested in finding out more about attending an ECHS.