Dual Enrollment Assessment Tool

This tool is designed to help community colleges assess the alignment of their dual enrollment practices with those described in The Dual Enrollment Playbook: A Guide to Equitable Acceleration for Students, published in October 2020 by two Aspen Institute programs—College Excellence and Education & Society—and the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. These practices were identified through research on partnerships of high schools and community colleges with high rates of access and success in dual enrollment overall and among historically underrepresented students of color.  The assessment tool is organized into several domains of practice and prompts users to rate their institution’s adoption of each item within each domain. Once complete, a summary of scores will allow colleges to identify strengths and weaknesses in specific practices aligned to each item and to observe which domains most need improvement.

 

In this assessment tool, the term “student success” has the following meaning:

  • Success in college: Students (1) learn and (2) complete credentials.
  • Success after college: Students (1) get good jobs and/or (2) transfer and attain a bachelor’s degree.
  • Equitable outcomes and access: For Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and low-income students, the college ensures high absolute rates and minimizes gaps in (1) learning and completion outcomes for students in college, (2) transfer and workforce outcomes for students after college, and (3) enrollment of different demographic groups relative to the college’s service area.

Directions: Assess the extent to which your college engages each of the following practices, according to the scoring rubric.

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Domain 1

Set a shared vision and goals for dual enrollment that prioritize equity
Senior leaders communicate an explicit commitment to increasing equity in access to and success in dual enrollment and articulate how equitable dual enrollment supports other strategic goals.
The college evaluates existing equity gaps in dual enrollment participation and outcomes and sets targets to close them.
College leaders work with the district and high school partners to define purpose, set equity goals for dual enrollment, and form agreements that promote equity.
The college has developed an equity-minded culture in which administrators, faculty, and staff demonstrate by their actions high expectations that historically underrepresented students of color will thrive in dual enrollment.

Domain 2

Expand equitable access to dual enrollment
College staff reach out to students and families in elementary and middle schools to promote college-going and engage in outreach to communities of color about dual enrollment (and college generally).
Dual enrollment staff focus outreach to specific high schools that are underrepresented among dual enrollment participants and communicate clearly and directly with families about the details and value of dual enrollment.
The college has expanded placement test access and prepares students for placement tests.
The college has created alternative ways beyond placement testing for students to gain access to dual enrollment.
The college strives to reduce costs for tuition, fees, and books to not create prohibitive barriers for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.
The college works to bridge transportation barriers to make dual enrollment accessible to all students.

Domain 3

Connect dual enrollment students to advising and supports that ensure equitable outcomes
The college provides all dual enrollment students with strong advising, with opportunities to explore academic and career options.
The college has created program maps that align dual enrollment courses with a long-term plan.
The college has integrated CTE courses fully, with credit, into dual enrollment offerings.
College staff train high school counselors on the college’s academic requirements.
The college exchanges information on students with its high school partners, with a focus on equity gaps.
The college offers support services to dual enrollment students and encourages them to use these resources.
The college integrates students into college life.

Domain 4

Provide high-quality instruction in dual enrollment courses that builds students’ competence and confidence
The college works with district and school partners to align high school and college curricula and pedagogy.
Faculty and staff work to acclimate new dual enrollment students to college expectations.
College faculty provide students with excellent teaching, including opportunities for active and co-curricular learning.
Faculty use culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy.
The college has created structures for college faculty and department chairs overseeing instruction to form collaborative relationships with high school instructors.
College leaders encourage and support faculty to assess their teaching practices with equity in mind, including evaluating impact on students of color.

Domain 5

Organize teams and develop relationships to maximize potential within dual enrollment partnerships
Senior leaders elevate an equity-focused dual enrollment team.
College staff have trusting relationships with their counterparts at high schools and districts and regularly communicate with them about advancing racial equity in dual enrollment.
The college has extended partnerships beyond the K-12 district.
The college has developed internal dashboards to monitor participation and outcomes for dual enrollment students by race and ethnicity.
The college shares data with partners to assess outcomes and enact improvements.

Dual Enrollment Assessment Tool Inquiry Guide

Dual Enrollment Assessment Tool Inquiry Questions

Where are your dual enrollment assessment results strongest and weakest?

  1. In establishing a shared vision and goals for dual enrollment that prioritize equity?
  2. In expanding equitable access to dual enrollment?
  3. In connecting dual enrollment students to advising and supports that ensure equitable outcomes? 
  4. In providing high-quality dual enrollment instruction that builds students’ competence and confidence?
  5. In organizing dual enrollment teams and developing relationships between partners to maximize dual enrollment potential?
     

How are your dual enrollment data connected to your assessment results?

  1. From which high schools do you enroll the most recent graduates? What is the college’s relationship with those high schools? How does it differ from the relationships with high schools that supply fewer students?
  2. What is the demographic distribution of your dual enrollment students? Which students are least likely to participate?  What percentage enroll in your college after high school?  What practice strengths and weaknesses from your assessment results might explain these results?
     

What do your assessment results and community demographic data tell you about where you need to improve access through dual enrollment? How can you better engage K-12 to expand college access for high-schoolers and young adults in geographic areas with lower educational attainment and employment rates?

Next Steps

  1. What 1-5 important things have you learned about your dual enrollment data? What do you most want to improve?
  2. What 1-5 important things have you uncovered about practices to improve dual enrollment outcomes from your assessment tool and the above questions? Among the areas of weakness, what few changes would make the biggest positive difference?
  3. What next steps can you take to make progress on these lessons learned?
     

Dual Enrollment Assessment Tool Data Queries

College-going rate in service area: What is the overall college-going rate in your service area as a whole and by demographic group? What differences stand out among the different demographic groups? 

Enrollment compared to high school and service area demographics: What is the demographic breakdown of your service area considering characteristics such as age, race, gender, or income? How does your student population reflect the demographics of your service area?  

Dual enrollment participation and yield: How do the demographics of your dual enrollment students reflect the broader population of your service area? Of the current high school population? Where are there gaps in who is served? What percentage of your dual enrollment students enroll at your college after high school?