...districts implementing policies at the secondary level to increase the academic rigor of the curriculum, make schooling more relevant and engaging, and provide greater support and guidance to students.

One approach increasingly being used by states and districts to improve preparation for higher education encourages high school students to take college classes for credit. These programs combine rigor and relevance, increase the level of coursework, and connect coursework to the student's future plans. They also help high school students "try out" college-level classes, give them an opportunity to see themselves as college-goers, and demystify the "college" experience as, in many cases, these courses take place on a college campus. To be successful, these programs must operate at the intersection of secondary and postsecondary education. They present a unique opportunity for both systems to align their goals and to share resources and expertise to prepare all students for postsecondary education.

To better understand the impact and value of such programs, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) engaged in an effort to identify, analyze, and describe schools, programs, and policies that link secondary and postsecondary education to help students earn college credit or take college-level courses. AYPF placed a particular emphasis on identifying programs serving first-generation, low-income, and low-performing students and underrepresented minorities. The findings are presented in The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students. This compendium profiles twenty-two programs that have been evaluated or have outcome data, describes their impact upon students, and addresses a number of questions surrounding their effectiveness and viability.

Secondary-Postsecondary Learning Options

Because there is a wide range of programs that allow high school students to earn college credit, AYPF coined the term secondary--postsecondary learning options (SPLOs) to encompass them all. Secondary-postsecondary learning options are schools and programs that link high schools with two- and four-year institutions of higher education and allow high school students to participate in college-level courses, whether for credit or not for credit. The College Ladder catalogues SPLOs by program type, including dual enrollment, tech prep, middle and...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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