Nowthatafoundational understandingofthehistorical dual credit and dual enrollment policy context has been established, Idiscuss each component oftheconceptual framework, beginning withassumptions and externalfactors and concluding with long-term impacts. Table A1 in appendix A summarizesthis discussion of theconceptual context. This section concludes with a descriptionofhow thestudy'sresearch questions and proposed methodologyintersect with thisconceptual context.
Assumptions and external factors. Encouraging expansionof accelerated learning options relies on several assumptions and external factors. Foremostamongthem, it assumesthat dual creditand dual enrollment are appropriate interventions to achieve the intended impacts onthe socioeconomic health of individualsand, byextension, the state. Dual credit anddual enrollment programsare designed to decreasethe timeand costs required to earn a postsecondary degree or credential. Theintervention recognizes thatthecost of highereducation has increased
substantiallywhile familypurchasing power has not (Odland, 2012). Atthe same time,most careers require a postsecondarycredential, even forentry-level positions (BurningGlass Technologies, 2014). Inthis context, highschools have an opportunity to use accelerated
learning optionstoreducethe opportunity costofearning a postsecondary credential sothatitis within reach of a larger shareof students.
Washingtonstate's dual credit and dual enrollment policies also make assumptions about the capacities ofexisting secondary and postsecondary education systems. Limited funding for program andpersonnel development indicates that policymakers assumethatthese systems have theminimum resources required to create orexpand dual creditand dual enrollment course offerings. These include facultywiththe necessarycredentials, existing relationshipsamong decision-makers between secondary and postsecondaryinstitutions that can be leveraged to build formal partnerships,andfacilitiesand technology infrastructurethat can supportin-person and online dual enrollment courses. These policies further assume systems havethecapacity and information needed to procure support among faculty and families, and prepare and recruit students to participate. This iscritical wheninvesting in dual credit and dual enrollment programs meansthatresources cannot be allocated to other initiatives.
Finally, Washington's dual credit and dual enrollment policies make someassumptions about the state's student population. Importantly, they assume that high school students are academically prepared andhavethe desire to take college-level courses, or that other policies will address achievementgaps or deficiencies in earlier grade levels. They acknowledge, but have limitedmeansto address, conflicting commitments high school studentshaveforwork, family, orextracurricular activities that may prevent themfrom enrolling in dual credit ordual enrollment courses. This is especiallyrelevantforRunning Startcoursesthatareheld on a college campus outside of theregular school day.
Resources. State, school, college, family, and student resources contributetothe design and implementation ofdual credit anddual enrollment policies and programs. The state
contributes itsabilityto enact andfund policies. Funding can be tiedto specific goals, such as HB 1546's priority funding to increase participation amongunderrepresented studentsand help small andrural schools provide equitable options totheir students relativetothoseattending large urban schools. Schools and colleges contribute local resources totheimplementation of dual credit and dual enrollment policies and programs. Their primary resource isthetimeof their faculty, counselors, andadministrators. This includes providing professional development to facultytohelp them teach students college-level material, time to develop partnerships, investments inearning credentials, and accessto academic andcareer counselors. Schools and colleges also contributethe resources of their facilities, including accessto libraries and
technology, such as servers, learning managementplatforms, software, and videoconferencing, as needed.
Finally, families must be supportive of their children attendingcollege-level courses, particularly if it requiresstudents to secure their own transportationtoacollege campus. They
may also often need to cover the costs ofthe courses, including discounted tuition, books, fees, and transportation. Further, they might have to make adjustments to allow their children to attend classes in theevenings,such as finding childcare foryounger siblings or budgeting to account for thelossof a teenager's contributions to thehouseholdincome.
Theabove barriers may limit HB 1546's impact on students eligible to receive subsidies. Implementation evidence suggests several schools that were eligible forCHS subsidies under HB 1546 werenot prepared to implement a CHSprogram(table 3.2). Thirty-five percent ofeligible schools (93 of 268) enrolled students in CHS courses in 2015/16. By 2017/18,half of eligible schools (128 of 256) enrolled students in CHS course.
Table 3.2. College inthe High School (CHS) course offerings andsubsidy recipients among regular high schools, by eligibility tier andschool year, 2015/16-2017/18.
HB 1546 eligibility status School year Did not offer CHS courses Offered CHScourses Total Did not apply for
subsidies Awarded subsidies Tier 1: 2015/16 52 45 1 98 Distant schools 2016/17 45 5 43 92 2017/18 36 9 46 91 Tier 2: 2015/16 62 18 1 81 Small schools 2016/17 52 10 15 77 2017/18 47 11 19 77 Tier 3: 2015/16 61 28 0 89 High-poverty 2016/17 51 14 24 89 schools 2017/18 45 17 26 88 Ineligible 2015/16 59 107 0 166 2016/17 56 112 0 168 2017/18 45 116 0 161 Total 2015/16 234 198 2 434 2016/17 204 141 82 426 2017/18 173 153 91 417
Note: Regular high schoolsare designatedbythe Washington Office of Superintendent of PublicInstruction. They excludealternativeschools,juvenilejusticefacilities,schools for studentswithspecialneeds, andhomeservices. Source: Author'sanalysis of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction data, 2015/16-2017/18
Strategies and activities. One ofthe primary strategies ofWashington state's dual credit and dual enrollment policies is to increase the availability and quality of dual credit and dual
enrollment programs. To advance this strategy, statepolicies allocate funding for the creation and expansion of partnerships between secondary schools and colleges, for high schoolsto create andexpanddual creditand dual enrollment programs, andforunderrepresented students to participate in accelerated options courses. Anotherkey strategy istoincrease enrollment in dual credit and dual enrollment courses. This involves providing funding forandrequiringlocal and state education agenciesto disseminate information to students and familiesabout advanced course options; requiringthat students be automatically enrolled in the most advanced course available based on standardized assessment scores and automaticallyadvanced to thenext highest course upon passing that course (Wash Rev. Code § 28A.320.195, 2013),and removing barriers to participation by covering coststo studentsnotfunded by federal or other sources and funding the expansion of offerings available to students (WashRev. Code§ 28A.320.196, 2015).
Outputs and outcomes.Outputs areobservable measures of completed activities. These include, butare notlimited to, the numberofeligible schools receiving funding,the amount awarded to eachschool, the number of secondary-postsecondarypartnerships created or sustained, the numberof secondary and postsecondary faculty teaching dual credit or dual enrollment courses, the number andvariety of dual credit and dual enrollmentcourses offered, the number of students enrolled in dual creditanddualenrollment courses, andthe number of underrepresented students enrolled in dual credit and dualenrollment courses.
Outcomes arethe effects of the policy initiative within a given timeframe. Short- and intermediate-term outcomes can occurwithin 1 to 3 years, respectively. They include,but arenot limited to, increasesinenrollment in dual credit and dualenrollmentcourses anddecreasesin enrollmentgapsforunderrepresented students. Other outcomes may include improvements in academic engagementand rigor, as measured by grades, standardizedassessment scores,
attendance, and discipline records.Longer-term outcomes may include higher postsecondary enrollment and completion rates and lower ratesof placementin postsecondary developmental English and math courses.
Long-termimpact. For taxpayers, funding education is a long-terminvestment.The payoff frominvesting indual credit and dual enrollment programs—iftheyachievetheir short- and intermediate-termoutcomes—comes years downthe road in the form of a more highly- educated population. With higher degrees comes accesstocareerswithfamily sustainingwages andindustry-recognizedcredentialshelpthe state's workforce meet its industries' needs.Higher earningstranslatetohigherstatetax revenues,economic growth driven by increased
consumptionof goods and services, and improvements in public health and safety (Baum, Ma& Payea, 2013).
Thisdissertation focuses primarilyon the outputs and outcomes included in the
conceptual framework. It seeks to answer, “Did thepolicies have the effects they intendedto?” The first research question explores patterns inthenumberand variety of coursesstudents are enrolling inover time toelucidate any differences in the quantity and diversity of courses taken acrossdifferent student groups. The other two research questions aim to isolatetheimpact of HB 1546'sextension of eligibility to earn CHScredits to students ingrade 10 andtheimpactof subsidized CHS tuitionforunderrepresented students on participation inCHS courses.
Along theway, the dissertation providessome evidence oftheimplementationof strategies and activities, such asthe amount of credits funded in each tier, and estimates of treatment effects for different student groups that may suggest some external factors may or may not be barriersto achievingtheintendent outcomes ofWashingtonstate's dual credit and dual enrollmentpolicy.