On this page
CCRC gathers two decades of dual enrollment research onto one page and answers the size question first. Dual enrollment is now ordinary: more than 2.8 million students took a college course in high school in 2023-24, four in five high schools offer it, and about a third of students take at least one before they graduate. The fact sheet is equally plain about who is missing. White students take these courses at close to twice the rate of their Black and Hispanic classmates, and English learners and students with disabilities are further behind than either group.
- Who published it
- CCRC, 2026
- What it is
- Policy brief
- Where the data comes from
- National
What it found
- More than 2.8 million students enrolled in dual enrollment courses in 2023-24, and 2 million of them, 71%, took them at a community college.
- 82% of high schools offer dual enrollment courses, and about one third of high school students have taken at least one by graduation.
- About 80% of dual enrollment students take the course at their own high school rather than on a college campus.
- High school students now account for more than one in five community college enrollments.
What it does not show
- It summarises other people’s research rather than testing anything itself, so each claim rests on a study you would have to read separately.
- Every figure is a national average, which cannot tell you what your state, your district, or your nearest college does.
How the study was done
A policy fact sheet published February 2026, citing federal datasets and peer-reviewed studies rather than presenting new analysis.
Why this matters to a family
Dual enrollment is not a niche program any more, so the useful question is no longer whether it exists near you but whether the version near you is run well.
Sources
Rules change. These were checked September 2026. Confirm the current version with your school before you act on any of it.
Reading the evidence before a decision?
Save this page and it sits on your own My FastTrack page alongside your state's deadlines and the tools. Deciding which of these findings apply to one teen, in one state, aiming at particular colleges, is what a roadmap engagement settles.