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Evaluation of the Early College High School Initiative

As part of its effort to develop a portfolio of effective high schools, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI). SRI International, in conjunction with the American Institutes for Research, is conducting a multiyear evaluation of the initiative.

Early College Schools (ECSs) are small, autonomous schools that provide students the opportunity to receive a high school education and two years of college credit in a compressed time frame and at public expense. The goal of the initiative is to open Early College High Schools that enroll students who are typically underserved and underrepresented in postsecondary education. Integral to the initiative is the creation of a partnership between an institution of higher education and a school district or other entity to create the ECSs. Thirteen intermediary organizations, representing a mixture of higher education institutions, philanthropic foundations, and community-based organizations, received grants to foster the development of these local partnerships and to assist the partners in developing the schools. Jobs for the Future is serving in a coordination role for the initiative overall, overseeing and providing technical assistance to the intermediary organizations. Since 2002, more than 200 ECSs have been opened in 24 states and the District of Columbia.

The national evaluation began with a design year in 2002-03 and will continue until 2011-12. Several research questions guide the national evaluation. The questions are focused on understanding the contextual factors that support the planning, development, and sustainability of ECSs; the schools' structural, organizational, and instructional characteristics; and the intermediate and long-term outcomes for students attending the schools.

The design has two major components: an implementation study involving site visits and interviews with intermediaries and school personnel, classroom observations, and student focus groups; and an outcomes study involving quantitative indicators of the effectiveness of the ECS model and student success. Several intermediary organizations are also conducting independent evaluations of their schools.

(Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, )

Key Staff

Principal Investigator: Nancy Adelman

Project Co-Director: Kaeli Keating

Project Deputy Director: Lauren Cassidy

Staff: Maria Abasi, Stacey Eaton, Marilyn Gillespie, Roneeta Guha, Catherine Hall, Nicolette Mayes, Raymond McGhee, Natalie Nielsen, C.J. Park, Elizabeth Rivera, Kaily Yee