Understanding How Access to Early College Programs Differs for English Learners

Early College provides high school students historically underrepresented in higher education with opportunities to earn college credits while still in high school. Although English learners (ELs) constitute one such underrepresented group, their participation in Early College programs (ECPs) thus far has received little attention. To fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted a secondary data analysis of administrative records in Massachusetts to examine high school ELs’ access to ECPs as well as factors that shaped their access. We found that students who remained classified as ELs in 12th grade, the focal grade of our analysis, were substantially underrepresented in ECPs across the state, while those who had been reclassified as English proficient before 12th grade were slightly overrepresented in ECPs. There was also substantial variation in the levels of EL participation across programs. We call for greater attention to ELs’ access to Early College research and policy reforms to remove the barriers that limit ELs’ equitable access.