Bellwether, a national nonprofit that works to transform education to ensure young people — especially those furthest from opportunity — achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities, recently published a report called, “Scaling What Works: Policies to Support Individual High School Career-Connected Learning Models.”
In it, they compare positive outcomes for students in six different career-connected learning models, including Early College High Schools, CTE Programs of Study, and CTE Dual or Concurrent Enrollment.
Among their findings, ECHS students were 22% more likely to earn associate degrees and 18% more likely to earn bachelor degrees compared to their non-ECHS peers. CTE Dual Enrollment students also showed positive gains, including higher GPAs, more college credits that transferred, and higher graduation and post-secondary enrollment rates.
It’s an interesting read, as New Mexico’s Early College High Schools are most often doing both of these things. To learn more, you can review the study on Bellweather’s website at: https://bellwether.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ScalingWhatWorks_1_Bellwether_December2025.pdf.