The Alliance’s goal is to close a quarter of the statewide college success equity gap by race and income and benefit thousands of students beyond that through the growth of high quality Early College programs in Massachusetts.

We will achieve this goal by supporting:

Scale
Enabling the field to serve 45,000 students in grades 9-12, ⅔ of whom are Black, Latino, or economically disadvantaged.

Quality
Doubling the degree attainment rate for Black, Latino, and economically-disadvantaged students who participate in Early College.

Achieving this goal means Early College will fuel a strong and diverse workforce pipeline and put students on paths to upward economic mobility.

Read the MassINC Report: Early College as a Force for Equity in the Post-Pandemic Era

Why Does This Matter?

The College Success Equity Gap is Staggering

Massachusetts suffers a staggering equity gap on postsecondary success and ultimate wages for Black and Latino students, and students from low income households.

Two of every ten Black, Latino, and low-income students in MA obtain a college degree of any type by 6 years after high school graduation, with significant impact on ultimate wage outcomes.

Early College is Working. . .

National and local data shows that Early College is increasing college enrollment and success, and closing equity gaps.

. . . However, it isn’t Reaching Enough Students

Early College programs in Massachusetts are currently reaching only 3% of high school students with just over 8,000 students enrolled in school year 2023-24.

Early College programs make an impact for students who have been historically underserved: nearly two-thirds of Early College students identify as Black and Latino, and over half as economically disadvantaged.

In order to catalyze this impact to increase attainment and close persistent equity gaps, Early College programs will need to serve 45,000 students.

What’s That Look Like?

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Achieving scale would mean serving 11,000 students per grade in Early College programs, or 15% of all Massachusetts seniors.
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At scale and maintaining current student demographics, Early College would serve one-third of all Black and Latino students in Massachusetts.

What Would This Mean?

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New research suggests that Early College doubles the odds of a student enrolling and persisting in college. Early College students in MA are 25% more likely than matched peers to go to college immediately after high school graduation and 31% more likely to persist into a second year.
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At scale and maintaining current student demographics, Massachusetts students stand to earn an additional 3,000 degrees annually, and the degree attainment gap by race and income will be closed by 25%.
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Research shows that the median wages for MA full-time workers, age 25 and older, is 67% higher for Bachelor’s degree holders and 28% higher for Associates degree holders than high school graduates.

Reaching 45K Students Will Require:

Building & Scaling

Building and significantly scaling high-quality Early College programs in schools serving a significant number of students of color and students from low-income homes.

Innovating New Models

Innovating new models, such as regional collaboratives, to reach additional schools and districts that serve smaller concentrations of students who can benefit most.