Earning college credit in high school can be transformative. For some students, this is the moment college begins to feel attainable instead of intimidating. These credits can save thousands of dollars, shorten the path to a credential, build confidence, or simply help a student see themselves as someone who belongs in higher education. For many students, particularly those who are the first in their families to attend college, completing that first dual credit course can change the course of their education.

Washington is widely recognized as a national pioneer in dual credit, with longstanding programs such as Running Start, College in the High School (CiHS), and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit helping more students begin and persist in postsecondary education. The continued expansion of these programs reflects several realities facing Washington: postsecondary enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels, equity gaps in college access and completion persist, and the number of high school graduates is projected to decline later this decade. As the state’s dual credit landscape continues to evolve, the conversation is shifting from whether students are participating to whether these programs are delivering the intended outcomes.

Across Washington, Limitless Learning Network partnerships are working to increase awareness of dual credit programs, improve access, and ensure that more students can take advantage of these pathways. This post explores how Washington is tracking dual credit participation and outcomes, what questions can be answered using the existing data, and how the Community College Research Center’s Dual Enrollment Equity Pathways (DEEP) framework can help partnerships strengthen dual credit access and success.

Nationally, the terms dual enrollment and dual credit are often used interchangeably. In Washington, however, dual credit is the umbrella term for programs that allow students to earn college credit while in high school. To align with state terminology, this post uses dual credit throughout.

How Are We Measuring and Tracking Dual Credit in Washington?

One of Washington’s strengths is its education data infrastructure. Unlike many states, Washington has multiple statewide data systems that capture different parts of students’ educational journeys, from early learning and K–12 course-taking to postsecondary enrollment, completion, and employment. Together, they help explain who participates in dual credit and what happens after high school.

At the same time, no single system provides a complete picture, making collaboration across agencies and the careful interpretation of the data essential. Each system was designed for a different purpose and offers a unique perspective on students’ experiences. Used together and paired with local knowledge and partnership experience, these resources help communities better understand how dual credit is working locally and where opportunities for improvement exist. A brief overview of the four primary statewide data sources and the questions each is best equipped to answer follows.

Education Research and Data Center (ERDC)

ERDC links K–12, higher education, workforce, and other state data to provide Washington’s most comprehensive picture of students’ educational pathways. Its Annual Report on Dual Credit and interactive Dual Credit Dashboard allows users to examine participation and outcomes by program type, geography, and student characteristics.

Questions These Data Can Answer

• Which students are participating in dual credit programs?
• How do participation rates vary across districts, student groups, and dual credit program types?
• What postsecondary outcomes do dual credit participants experience compared with their peers?
• Where do statewide participation and equity gaps persist?

Limitations: The dual credit dashboard includes only those programs included in the state’s reporting requirements. ERDC can show whether students who participated in dual credit enrolled in college, but it cannot determine whether the credits they earned were ultimately applied toward a credential.

Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS)

CEDARS, managed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is Washington’s statewide K–12 longitudinal data system. School districts report student-level information to CEDARS, including enrollment, demographics, course-taking, grades, graduation outcomes, and participation in dual credit programs such as Running Start, College in the High School, CTE Dual Credit, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge International. These data also serve as primary inputs for ERDC’s longitudinal reporting.

Questions These Data Can Answer

• Which high school students are participating in dual credit?
• How does participation vary across schools, districts, and student groups?
• Which dual credit programs are students taking?
• Where do high school participation gaps or inequities exist?

Many of these questions can also be explored through OSPI’s Washington State Report Card, which presents state-, district-, and school-level dual credit participation data disaggregated by student characteristics and program type.

Limitations: CEDARS does not follow students into postsecondary education. Therefore it does not include information on whether students enrolled in dual credit programs go on to enroll in a postsecondary credential program or whether college credit was ultimately awarded, transferred, or applied toward a degree.

State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)

SBCTC maintains public dashboards that track enrollment, progression, and completion across Washington’s community and technical college system. Users can explore trends, compare colleges and student groups, and examine measures included in the Student Achievement Initiative.

Questions These Data Can Answer

• How has Running Start enrollment changed over time?
• How do participation patterns differ across colleges and student groups?
• How are Running Start students progressing academically within the community and technical college system?
• How do student outcomes compare across institutions?

Limitations: The SBCTC dashboards focus on community and technical college system students and therefore do not capture dual credit experiences at Washington’s public four-year institutions, private colleges and universities, or out-of-state institutions. These dashboards also cannot determine whether students ultimately applied their earned credits toward a credential.

Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC)

WSAC publishes reports and dashboards that provide a statewide perspective on postsecondary access, financial aid, and student success, helping policymakers, educators, and partnerships monitor long-term trends. Its periodic Dual Credit Report brings together data from multiple state agencies to provide a statewide snapshot of participation and student outcomes.

Questions These Data Can Answer

• How has dual credit participation statewide changed over time?
• Which dual credit programs are growing?
• Which student groups continue to be underrepresented?
• How do dual credit participants compare with nonparticipants in postsecondary enrollment and credential attainment?

Limitations: While the WSAC reports provide valuable comparisons across programs and student groups, they emphasize statewide trends and offer limited district- or partnership-level analysis. And, like the other statewide dual credit data sources, WSAC reports cannot determine whether a student's earned dual credits were ultimately applied toward a credential.

Making a DEEP Impact

Washington’s statewide data systems answer many important questions about participation and student outcomes, but they cannot fully explain student experiences or the local factors that influence access and success. Partnerships are encouraged to draw on advising records, student surveys, focus groups, and conversations with educators, students, and families to better understand how dual credit is working locally.

Regularly reviewing dual credit participation and postsecondary enrollment data helps clarify who is being served. The next step is using those data to strengthen alignment, improve quality, and ensure students receive the advising and academic support they need to succeed.

One framework that can help guide these conversations is the Community College Research Center’s DEEP framework. Rather than viewing dual credit as simply an opportunity to earn college credit in high school, DEEP encourages a broader conception of how dual credit can become an equitable pathway into postsecondary education. The framework identifies four interconnected areas that support student success:

• Proactive outreach to underserved students and schools to expand equitable access
• Alignment between dual credit opportunities and students’ college and career pathways
• Early academic and career exploration, supported by strong advising and planning
• High-quality instruction and student supports that help students succeed in college-level coursework

Taken together, these four elements encourage partnerships to think beyond dual credit participation and instead ask whether dual credit pathways are intentionally designed to help all students thrive both during high school and after graduation.

DEEP Questions for Local Sensemaking

As your partnership continues to explore dual credit data and pathways, consider DEEP-informed questions such as:

Access and Outreach

• Who is participating in dual credit and who isn't?
• What does participation look like when disaggregated by race, income, multilingual learner status, disability status, or geography?

Alignment

• Are your dual credit pathways intentionally connected to students’ educational and career goals?
• Are these pathways also aligned with regional employment needs?

Advising and Student Support

• What barriers—such as cost, scheduling, transportation, advising, or awareness—might your current data be missing?
• How can you collect this missing data to better respond to the needs of your students and region?

Quality and Partnership

• Do your K–12 and postsecondary partners share a common definition of high-quality dual credit coursework and instruction?
• Is there a common definition of dual credit student success?
• How can your partnership work together to better understand what happens to the credits students earn when they move into a credential program?

Over the course of the coming year, the Limitless Learning Network will continue exploring how our partnerships can use different types of data and shared learning to strengthen dual credit quality, expand equitable access, and improve student outcomes. We look forward to exploring these questions together and learning alongside you.

Amy Marcetti is a senior researcher with more than 15 years of experience leading research, evaluation, and institutional improvement initiatives across higher education and nonprofit settings. Based in Washington state, Amy is especially interested in research and evaluation work that responds to community needs and promotes equitable educational opportunities across the Pacific Northwest.