Early college high schools are programs created by collaborations between secondary public education and institutions of higher education to address the challenge of increasing the number of traditionally underserved students (i.e. minorities, low socioeconomic status, and first generation to college) in institutions of higher education. Students in early college high schools are able to graduate from the school with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree, or 60 hours of transferrable college credit (Jobs for the Future, 2007). The institutional strategies utilized in these collaborative initiatives that pursue, as a main goal, promotion of high school and higher education, student retention and success should be investigated so that other educational settings may adopt these practices to further enhance educational opportunities for all students. A more in-depth understanding of how early college high schools contribute to the success of students who are traditionally underserved in the United States education system is needed. It is imperative to identify specific, evidence based, effective institutional strategies that early college high schools utilize that contribute to student success and retention in order to determine common trends and practices that are utilized by these institutions based on evidence from the available data. This study utilized a mixed methods design, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, to determine which effective retention and success strategies are common to selected Texas early college high schools. Quantitative analysis was used to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the selected early college high schools and other traditional high schools within their districts regarding academic achievement on state assessments, retention, and college course completion rates. The qualitative analysis aspect of the study was implemented through the use of anonymous surveys administered to students, student focus groups, and reviews of institutional documents of selected early college high schools. This qualitative data was analyzed to determine the common strategies and practices that are utilized to promote retention, academic achievement on state assessments, and college course completion rates on the selected campuses. / text

This dissertation presents the results from an empirical study of the perspectives of Latina students who were underperforming in an early college high school (ECHS), regarding their academic performance and school experiences. These students' perceptions were used to assess the viability of the ECHS as a policy intervention to prepare first generation and students of color for college. Qualitative methods were employed specifically interviews, prolonged engagement, document analysis, observations and student journals. Freedoms to achieve, unfreedoms, and deformed choices were used as the conceptual frameworks guiding the analyses of the study. Analyses revealed a school which promoted meritocratic notions of achievement, despite social justice foundations. These meritocratic ideals suggest that students are largely responsible for their academic performance and achievement. That is, the school discourse promotes a stance of a level playing field-such that opportunity to achieve is available and all students should be free and able to take advantage of these opportunities. However, interviews with the students and prolonged engagement in the setting revealed elements of the students' lives (such as outside employment and/or responsibilities) which work to derail student performance, despite individual effort. These unfreedoms often disallow students from taking advantage of freedoms, or opportunities to achieve, that the school provides. Unfreedoms may force students to make deformed choices-that is, choices they would not make if unfreedoms did not exists. Results suggest without consideration of the real lives of students and families, and without consideration of how students perceive their performance and school experiences, schools can expect little change in student outcomes. Moreover, as a social justice policy intervention, early college high schools have a greater obligation to consider students' authentic lived experience. My findings suggest the early college program was designed with good intentions, however, as a policy intervention it is not as effective as it could be. The program comes from the perspective that opportunities (or freedoms) to achieve-which the school provides-are accessible to all students. Unfortunately, this limited perspective naively ignores the constraints (or unfreedoms) students face in their lives. Unfreedoms are often unavoidable, and tend to undermine students' progress toward high academic performance. Recommendations include suggestions to increase students' authentic freedoms to achieve through policy, practice and research.

The short existence of Early College High Schools has not allowed for considerable research to assess their operational effectiveness. Furthermore, the effectiveness perceptions and reactions of students enrolled at these schools have not been given ample opportunity to be studied – an integral component of any school’s operation. The purpose of the study is to focus on one specific ECHS while in its third year of existence to assess its operational effectiveness from the perspective of its students. The research methodology which was selected as appropriate for the study involves the use of qualitative research coupled with the case study method. In order to assess for reliable observations, currently enrolled students were interviewed to gain knowledge of their perception of the operational effectiveness at their early college high school. Additional qualitative data was utilized with an inductive analytic approach to provide for a detailed view of the school. Data was segmented into relevant parts to help identify emergent themes. The following themes emerged from the findings: attainable success; student roles and responsibilities; personalization; support to achieve higher-level work; highly qualified teachers; and engaging parents and community. The findings suggest that student perceptions reflect an effective school environment that enables them to meet the expectations of high school graduation and completion of up to two years of college credit. Moreover, the supplemental data collected provided evidence of effective school administration and instructional practices that foster the support and engagement of students to meet their needs as early college high school students. An objective study of an early college high school may assist its administrators to ascertain whether they are meeting the needs of their students. Future research concerning this topic may be able to utilize the results and conclusions of this study to further enrich the knowledge of effective early college high schools. / text

This dissertation explores factors that play a role in students' decisions to attend one Northern California Early College High School (NCECHS). It also examines how students perceive their experiences of their decision after they have enrolled. The history of the public education has long been marked by an achievement gap between White and Asian students and students from other ethnic groups. In spite of efforts to address this issue, the gap continues to widen. Early College High Schools (ECHS's) are examples of reform models that are developed to support student achievement among undeserved groups. Without an understanding of the factors that influence student decisions to attend ECHS's and an understanding of the ways students perceive their experiences in such schools; administrators and teachers in these schools are left to more or less "guess" at the most effective ways to structure curriculum and instruction. A qualitative analysis was used to explore student perception and experiences. A survey asked students to share the primary factors that influenced their decision to attend NCECHS, instead of a traditional public school. Findings from this research suggest that the participant's perceived costs and benefits were based on both personal preferences and rational choices. Some aspects of the program that were especially pleasing to students included having the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, earn college credit and earn an associate's degree at the same time. Many students expressed dissatisfaction and anxiety with attending this ECHS. Frustration with the college enrollment process, prerequisites, heavy workloads, time management, fear of academic failure, relationships with instructors and disassociation from friends were also among the findings of this study.