On the Fast Track: Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges of Dual Credit: ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 42, Number 3

The dual-credit curricular initiative offers high school students the opportunity to earn college and high school credits simultaneously without taking a standardized test to acquire the credit. The courses are purported to introduce students to a more rigorous curriculum in high school and save them time and money in their pursuit of college degrees. Dual credit programs have grown rapidly, and this monograph provides a synthesis of:

• the scholarly literature on dual credit offered at high school and a variety of postsecondary settings;

• underrepresented students’ experiences with the course(s), and

• suggestions for future research and drivers that will influence its development.

Originally, these initiatives focused on high-achieving students, but additional models have emerged that expand the benefits to lower- and middle-achieving students as well.

This is the third issue of the 42nd volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.