Giving Compass' Take:

• As dual enrollment grows in popularity, research shows that it primarily benefits already-advantaged students. 

• How can funders work to increase equity in programs like dual enrollment? 

• Learn how education reforms can unintentionally lower quality of college.

Federal data show dual enrollment — a process allowing high school students to take college-level courses for postsecondary credit — is gaining steam within the education sector.

For many in the industry, dual-enrollment practices look great on paper, offering a jump-start on an advanced education. Yet critics question whether this opportunity is truly accessible and therefore effective. Does dual enrollment actually lead to more college-going for all kinds of students or just some? And what can institutions to do help close the achievement gap?

Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show that in the fall of 2010, 15% of U.S. community college entrants were high school dual-enrollment students.

The report found that only 12% of those dually enrolled high school students didn't go on to enroll in some form of college by the age of 20, with 41% of dually enrolled students going on to a four-year college. Of the other 47% of students who first matriculated in community college between the ages of 18 and 20, 84 percent went to the institution where they were taking the dual enrollment courses.

Those figures suggest time in the postsecondary classroom can lead to more college-going behavior, said Jason Taylor, assistant professor of education leadership and policy at the University of Utah.

"Dual enrollment emerged as sort of a pathway for higher achieving students — a way to provide more challenging courses for students who might be college bound or students who are already high achieving," he said.

This often means lower-income students of color and first-generation students are less likely to participate in significant numbers. "In some ways, dual enrollment is where we see inequities in participation," he said.

Read the full article about dual enrollment by Shalina Chatlani at Education Dive.