AACRAO SEM 2021 Session Presented by Dr. Wil Perkins, Harding University
The promise of completing college-level work in high school is that students will be more prepared for college and have a shorter time to degree attainment, thus saving them on higher education costs. Yet, little research is available to validate these conclusions. Therefore, Dr. Perkins examined 2,817 students from a private university to determine the predictive effects of high school students completing college-level work on years to completion, graduation GPA, and total hours completed.
Beginning the session, Dr. Perkins outlined the timeline and history of dual-enrollment and AP course instruction. In this preface, Dr. Perkins noted that 1st generation students and those from low-income backgrounds often benefit from accelerated courses by entering and completing higher education goals. This positive relationship is available for review through other research studies.
The evidence of whether or not these courses are delivering on their promises is inconclusive. Yet, despite this lack of evidence, many states continue to push AP and dual enrollment education, and many institutions even offer lowered or free tuition to take these courses. In fact, in the 2010-11 school year, a nationwide survey found that 82% of high schools had an AP program, and in 2015 greater than 90% of students had some amount of college credit when applying to higher education institutions.
The expectation is often that students will benefit from accelerated college credits by:
Having higher collegiate GPAs
Reduced time to completion
Completing fewer credit hours at the institution
Numerous studies provide conflicting results between accelerated credit and baccalaureate degree outcomes. Indeed, through rigorous research, Dr. Perkins found that the impact or influence of these courses on completion rates, GPA, and time to completion was generally negligible for most demographic groups. For his work in this area, Dr. Perkins received the National Student Clearinghouse 2021 Research Award.
View the complete dissertation and study from Dr. Perkins "Predictive Effects of College-Level Work Completed in High School on Baccalaureate Degree Outcomes."