Dual-Credit Courses and the Road to College: Experimental Evidence from Tennessee

Hemelt, Steven W.; Hemelt, Steven W.

Panel Paper: Dual-Credit Courses and the Road to College: Experimental Evidence from Tennessee

Thursday, November 12, 2015 : 2:25 PM

Tuttle Center (Hyatt Regency Miami)

*Names in bold indicate Presenter

Steven W. Hemelt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nathaniel Schwartz, Tennessee Department of Education and Susan Dynarski, University of Michigan

This study uses a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to estimate the causal impact of Tennessee’s new “dual-credit” policy, which expands opportunities for students to earn college credits for advanced math courses taken in high school. We estimate effects on high school and college outcomes including course-taking, remediation, and attainment. This is the first RCT of a dual-credit program and will provide evidence on the efficacy of an increasingly widespread policy that is intended to ease the transition from high school to college.