Dual credit offerings remain popular with policy makers around the country, especially in Texas, where the program has been expanded greatly in recent years. As reported here before, some education leaders, including Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes, have expressed concerns about the quality and rigor of dual credit offerings in the wake of the expansion.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has assembled a collection of articles on dual credit—some new and some published previously. Here is the general link, so you can shop around for a topic that might interest you. If some articles require a subscription, the hard copy may be worth a trip to your college library when it arrives.

Existing studies indicate that dual credit correlates with improved student success at all levels. Many of these studies, however, were conducted before the recent surge in dual credit courses, especially in Texas. However, below are the studies that are cited most often, as collected by Beth McMurtrie of the CHE.

The articles might be especially useful to those at your school who are involved in the dual credit program.

“The Impact of Dual Enrollment on College Degree Attainment: Do Low-SES Students Benefit?” (American Educational Research Association, 2012).

This study followed students who began postsecondary education in 2003, using a nationally representative sample. It found that those who had taken dual-enrollment courses were 10 percent more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than the comparison group. First-generation students were 12 percent more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than the comparison group.

“The Effects of Concurrent Enrollment on the College-Going and Remedial Education Rates of Colorado’s High School Students” (Colorado Department of Higher Education, 2014).

This study found that high-school students who took dual-credit courses were 23 percent more likely to enroll in college immediately following high-school graduation and 9 percent less likely to enroll in remedial classes.

“Dual-Credit/Dual-Enrollment Coursework and Long-Term College Success in Texas” (ACT Research and Policy, 2014).

This study found that students enrolled in one of four public universities in Texas with dual credit were 30 percent more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years than those who had not earned college credit in high school.

“Dual Credit in Oregon, 2010 Follow-Up: An Analysis of Students Taking Dual Credit in High School in 2007-08” (Office of Institutional Research, Oregon University System, 2010).

This study found that students who had taken dual-credit courses were more likely to continue to postsecondary education and continue on to a second year in college.