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The Impact of Early College High Schools on Participation in Extracurricular Activities

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Title: The Impact of Early College High Schools on Participation in Extracurricular Activities
Language: English
Authors: Julie A. Edmunds (ORCID 0000-0002-9439-8413), Marieke Visser (ORCID 0000-0003-3240-7801), Elizabeth J. Glennie, Brian Phillips (ORCID 0000-0001-6623-2793)
Source: Journal of Advanced Academics. 2026 37(2):251-275.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 25
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Contract Number: R305R060022
R305A110085
R305A140361
R305H190036
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Secondary Education
Grade 9
Descriptors: Dual Enrollment, High School Students, College Preparation, Acceleration (Education), Student Participation, Extracurricular Activities, Athletics, Art, Career and Technical Education, Access to Education, Socialization, Leadership, Clubs, Grade 9
DOI: 10.1177/1932202X251413053
ISSN: 1932-202X
2162-9536
Abstract: Early colleges combine high school and college, providing students with significant opportunities for academic acceleration. We examine whether the stand-alone early college model--with its academic emphasis, its small size and its location on a college campus--results in students being more or less likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Our study uses a randomized controlled trial in which eligible applicants were randomly assigned to attend the early college (treatment) or attend the business-as-usual condition (control). Our analyses found that treatment students were less likely to participate in extracurriculars in school than control students. This difference was primarily driven by lower participation by early college students in sports, arts, and vocational extracurriculars. These findings suggest that early college high schools--or other academically focused programs--may want to consider expanding access to extracurricular activities to give students the sense of socialization and leadership that they get from these experiences.
Abstractor: As Provided
IES Funded: Yes
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504435
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0193364115;[261p]01may.26;2026May04.05:11;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0193364115-1">The Impact of Early College High Schools on Participation in Extracurricular Activities </title> <p>Early colleges combine high school and college, providing students with significant opportunities for academic acceleration. We examine whether the stand-alone early college model—with its academic emphasis, its small size and its location on a college campus—results in students being more or less likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Our study uses a randomized controlled trial in which eligible applicants were randomly assigned to attend the early college (treatment) or attend the business-as-usual condition (control). Our analyses found that treatment students were less likely to participate in extracurriculars in school than control students. This difference was primarily driven by lower participation by early college students in sports, arts, and vocational extracurriculars. These findings suggest that early college high schools—or other academically focused programs—may want to consider expanding access to extracurricular activities to give students the sense of socialization and leadership that they get from these experiences.</p> <p>Keywords: extracurricular participation; early college high school; experimental design; high school; acceleration</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Early college high schools (early colleges) are a rapidly spreading educational model ([<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref1">2</reflink>]) that combines the high school and college experiences. Frequently implemented as stand-alone schools housed on college campuses, early colleges serve students in Grades 9–12 and provide students with the opportunity to earn substantial college credits while still in high school, allowing students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate degree or 2 years of college credit. Multiple rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental studies of the stand-alone model have shown that the model has positive impacts on a range of high school outcomes and that it increases attainment of postsecondary credentials and reduces time to degree ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref2">7</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref3">12</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref4">9</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref5">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref6">10</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref7">17</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref8">20</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref9">25</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref10">32</reflink>]). The model has been cited by the U.S. Department of Education as a strong, evidence-based approach ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref11">3</reflink>]).</p> <p>Despite the model's success, there has been concern that students participating in early colleges may miss out on aspects of the high school experience, including participating in extracurricular activities, such as drama and music, sports, or other activities. When early college high schools operate as stand-alone models, schools tend to be small, and they do not typically offer a full array of after-school extracurricular activities. To date, there has been no empirical evidence on whether students in the early college participate in extracurriculars at a higher or lower rate than students in regular high schools. This study addresses this absence by using data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to investigate students' levels of participation. It is important to note that the goal of this study is not to connect students' participation in extracurriculars in the early college to academic outcomes; instead, we seek to determine whether students' early college participation makes it more or less likely that students will engage in these types of activities.</p> <p>To preview our results, we found that early college students were less likely to participate in extracurriculars than students in control group and the impacts varied depending on the type of extracurricular and by student subgroup.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-3">Literature Review</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0193364115-4">Extracurricular Participation</hd> <p>Extracurricular school activities provide students with the opportunity to do structured activities with other students outside of the regular school day such as sports, arts, service, vocational, and other clubs. Researchers have argued that these extracurriculars, which are separate from academic classes, are "central developmental settings for adolescents" ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref12">13</reflink>], p. 161). Extracurriculars have several characteristics that separate them from classroom experiences and from other leisure activities in which students may participate. First, in contrast to the classroom, extracurriculars generally occur outside of the regular school day and they do not have academic instruction as a primary goal ([<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref13">6</reflink>]), although many extracurriculars such as debate or science and math competitions may have an academic focus. Second, also in contrast to the classroom, they are voluntary activities and participation is not required ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref14">15</reflink>]); thus extracurricular activities can be considered as an indicator of behavioral engagement with school ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref15">19</reflink>]). Third, in contrast to other kinds of leisure time, they are structured and generally share several features including "regular participation schedules, direction by an adult leader, emphasis on skill development, and involvement that requires sustained attention, opportunities for meaningful participation, and clear feedback" ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref16">15</reflink>], p. 507).</p> <p>Extracurricular participation is widespread with approximately 80% of U.S. 10th graders participating in some sort of extracurricular activity ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref17">14</reflink>]), although there are differences in participation occurring by gender, socioeconomic status, and race ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref18">18</reflink>]). For example, a longitudinal study found that White and Black students had similar participation in sports, but Black students had lower participation in non-sport activities and Latine students had lower participation in all activities. Having a parent with a college degree was positively associated with participation in all activities, and this difference expanded over time. Participation also varied by gender with females having higher participation rates in non-sports activities than males, while males had higher participation in sports ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref19">29</reflink>]).</p> <p>Why is extracurricular participation important? Researchers have suggested that participation in organized extracurricular activities provides "important socialization experiences and opportunities and supports for development" ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref20">16</reflink>], p. 327). More specifically, extracurricular activities are expected to provide students with opportunities "(a) to acquire and practice specific social, physical, and intellectual skills that may be useful in a wide variety of settings including school; (b) to contribute to the well-being of one's community and to develop a sense of agency as a member of one's community; (c) to belong to a socially recognized and valued group; (d) to establish supportive social networks of peers and adults that can help in both the present and the future; and (e) to experience and deal with challenges" ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref21">5</reflink>], p. 866).</p> <p>There has been extensive research conducted on the value of extracurricular participation with a general consensus in the literature that participation in extracurriculars is associated with positive outcomes in high school including improved academic performance and motivation, reduced dropouts, and decreased problem behaviors, although that may differ by the type of extracurricular activity ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref22">14</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref23">26</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref24">28</reflink>]). Some research has also suggested that extracurricular participation is linked to improved student achievement at the school level ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref25">33</reflink>]). There are also positive associations with other measures of young adult adjustment including lower levels of drug and alcohol use and greater levels of civic engagement ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref26">16</reflink>]).</p> <p>Participation in extracurricular activities can also be considered a "college enhancement" strategy that increases the quality of college applications, particularly for more selective colleges ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref27">37</reflink>]). Indeed, extracurricular participation is also associated with increased likelihood of submitting a college application ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref28">26</reflink>]).</p> <p>Given the documented benefits of extracurricular participation, researchers have called for ensuring that high schools provide access to a range of activities ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref29">33</reflink>]). There remain open questions, however, about the extent to which the early college model, which has a strong emphasis on formal classroom instruction, provides access to extracurricular activities.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-5">The Early College Model</hd> <p>The term early college can mean different things across the country, ranging from a dual enrollment program in Maine to schools that have to meet very specific criteria such as in North Carolina and Texas ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref30">10</reflink>]). In this paper, we examine the model as implemented in North Carolina. Known as Cooperative Innovative High Schools in the state, North Carolina's early colleges are small stand-alone schools that combine the high school and college experiences and are expected, by law, to target students who are underrepresented in college, including first generation college-goers, students at-risk of dropping out, and students who need an accelerated learning environment. Serving students starting in Grade 9, North Carolina's early colleges are almost always housed on college campuses. Students can begin taking college courses as early as ninth grade and are expected to earn an associate degree or 2 years of college credit at the same time as they earn their high school diploma. To prepare students to take college courses, all students are expected to take honors level high school courses, and teachers are expected to use rigorous and relevant instructional practices; research has found that early college students reported more rigorous experiences with higher expectations from staff ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref31">12</reflink>]). The schools are also expected to provide students with substantial levels of academic and affective support. Researchers frequently reported that students saw the early college staff and students as a highly supportive and caring family ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref32">12</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref33">24</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref34">34</reflink>]). Simultaneously getting their high school degree and 2 years of college credits means that students compress an experience that normally takes at least 6 years (4 years of high school plus 2 years of college) into 4 years or 5 years (some early colleges go through a fifth year). Accomplishing this requires students to have an intensive focus on coursetaking.</p> <p>The design of the early college (as implemented in North Carolina) and the very limited body of existing research around extracurriculars in early colleges suggest that there are three primary mechanisms by which early colleges might impact students' extracurricular participation: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref35">1</reflink>) the intensive focus on academics may reduce the amount of time students have to spend on extracurriculars; and (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref36">2</reflink>) the location and small size of the model may keep early colleges from offering extracurriculars or may change the types of extracurriculars they can offer. There is also an alternative hypothesis: (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref37">3</reflink>) the small size of the school and the increased expectations of engagement ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref38">12</reflink>]) may actually increase overall student participation, even if the school cannot offer opportunities that require significant resources such as band, musicals or a football team.</p> <p>The small number of qualitative studies that look at extracurriculars in the early college suggest that the first two mechanisms might be the ones we are likely to see. These studies have highlighted the amount of academic work that the early college experience requires, noting that the high workload in the early college can make it harder for students to participate in extracurriculars and that students see trade-offs with an increase in academic effort coming at the expense of social or extracurricular activities ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref39">1</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref40">4</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref41">38</reflink>]). For example, a student interviewed for one study noted that he had been playing basketball prior to coming to the early college and then had to stop, "I had to give one up in tenth grade after I knew the workload" ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref42">1</reflink>], p. 27). A student in another study said, "Soon, I began to have less and less time for the things which I enjoyed outside of school, like dance and theatre. I tried to keep dancing for a while, but it just got to be too much and I had to give it up" ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref43">38</reflink>], p. 64). These findings align with research suggesting that students taking advanced courses (such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate) experience stress as they attempt to balance coursework and extracurriculars ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref44">31</reflink>]).</p> <p>There is also evidence to suggest that the schools are limited in their offerings—particularly sports. For example, a student interviewed for one study conducted in Texas said,</p> <p>I wish that early college would accommodate sports, because I know there are a lot of people in athletics. There's no band, no orchestra, not too many extracurricular activities. [EC] did have clubs. I know they had a STEM club, a robotics club, but still stuff that was primarily academic. It would have been nice to just have a day where we could go watch a football game and just relax a little bit. ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref45">4</reflink>], p. 380)</p> <p>The lack of offerings could be due partly to the small size of the school, which limits the number and size of activities they can support, and also the fact that many of them are located on community college campuses. As commuter schools, community colleges generally have low extracurricular participation rates; one paper estimated that only 19% of community college students participated in extracurricular activities ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref46">27</reflink>]) compared to 80% of students in high school ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref47">14</reflink>]).</p> <p>The qualitative findings described above suggest that we might expect that early college students have lower levels of participation in extracurriculars, particularly in sports. It is possible, however, that students who choose to attend an early college might generally be those students who would not have participated in extracurriculars even if they were in the regular high school. This study is the first quantitative study to examine the impact of early colleges on students' participation in extracurriculars. It is driven by the following research questions:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> What is the impact of the early college on students' participation in extracurricular activities overall and by type of activity?</item> <p></p> <item> To what extent do those impacts differ by subgroup, including by gender, underrepresented racial and ethnic group status, economically disadvantaged status, and first- generation college-going status?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0193364115-6">Method</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0193364115-7">Design</hd> <p>This study builds on an existing, long-term RCT in which students who applied to the early college were randomly either selected to attend or assigned to the business-as-usual condition, generally the comprehensive high school in the district. Because the treatment and control groups are formed randomly, an RCT allows for unbiased estimates of the impact of an intervention ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref48">30</reflink>]). The RCT, which has been determined to meet the highest federal standards of quality ([<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref49">23</reflink>]), has been used to assess the impact of the early college on a range of high school outcomes as well as on postsecondary enrollment and credential attainment ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref50">7</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref51">12</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref52">9</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref53">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref54">10</reflink>]). For this analysis, we look at the impact of the model on students' participation in extracurricular activities.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-8">Sample</hd> <p>Between 2005 and 2010, 4,073 students applied to one of 19 early colleges. Each of the early colleges participating in the study had more applications than they had slots for students and also agreed to use a lottery to select the students. Eligible applicants were randomly assigned by lottery to either the treatment group (early college) or the comparison group (not admitted to the early college). The study follows an intent-to-treat design ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref55">21</reflink>]) where students remain in the group to which they were originally randomized even if they did not end up enrolling in the early college. Some of the lotteries were stratified (e.g., by first generation college-going status or by home high school) and so students had different odds of getting into the early college. These odds were incorporated into the analyses using weights (see analysis description below). Figure 1 provides a CONSORT diagram detailing the flow of participants through the study, including random assignment to treatment and comparison groups, and the number of students included in the analytic sample. In Figure 1, we are looking at two different outcomes (extracurricular participation in ninth grade and ever participating in extracurricular activities), which are described in more depth below. As shown in the sample sizes in Figure 1, the overall attrition rates for both outcomes are low, meeting What Works Clearinghouse standards under their cautious assumptions ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref56">36</reflink>]), which means that the original experimental contrast remains intact. The overall attrition rate for the ninth-grade outcomes is 5.8% with a differential attrition rate of 4.2% (4.1% attrition for treatment and 8.3% for control). The overall attrition rate for the "ever participating" outcomes is 4.8% with a differential attrition rate of 3.5% (3.3% attrition for treatment and 6.8% for control).</p> <p>DIAGRAM: Figure 1. CONSORT diagram for the extracurricular analytic sample.</p> <p>Table 1 presents the baseline characteristics of the analysis sample by treatment and control group. As shown, random assignment resulted in balanced samples suitable for comparison.</p> <p>Table 1. Sample Sizes and Characteristics for the Baseline "Ever" Sample.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="left" /><col align="left" /><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" /><th align="left" colspan="2">Treatment</th><th align="left" colspan="2">Control</th><th align="left" colspan="3">Baseline Equivalence</th></tr><tr><th align="left">Binary Variables</th><th align="left"><italic>n</italic></th><th align="left"><italic>M</italic> (%)</th><th align="left"><italic>n</italic></th><th align="left"><italic>M</italic> (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>p</italic></th><th align="left">Effect Size</th><th align="left"><italic>SE</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>White</td><td> 2,259</td><td>58.7</td><td> 1,606</td><td>61.3</td><td>.102</td><td>−.05</td><td>.016</td></tr><tr><td>Black</td><td> 2,259</td><td>27.8</td><td> 1,606</td><td>26.3</td><td>.313</td><td>.03</td><td>.014</td></tr><tr><td>Latine</td><td> 2,259</td><td>8.1</td><td> 1,606</td><td>6.8</td><td>.135</td><td>.05</td><td>.008</td></tr><tr><td>Male</td><td> 2,237</td><td>40.4</td><td> 1,604</td><td>39.8</td><td>.692</td><td>.01</td><td>.016</td></tr><tr><td>Economic disadvantage</td><td> 2,175</td><td>51.8</td><td> 1,568</td><td>47.1</td><td>.004</td><td>.<bold>09**</bold></td><td>.017</td></tr><tr><td>First generation</td><td> 1,979</td><td>39.8</td><td> 1,335</td><td>39.6</td><td>.935</td><td>.00</td><td>.017</td></tr><tr><td>Gifted and talented</td><td> 2,255</td><td>5.7</td><td> 1,596</td><td>6.7</td><td>.216</td><td>−.04</td><td>.008</td></tr><tr><td>Continuous Variables</td><td align="left"><italic>n</italic></td><td align="left"><italic>M</italic> (<italic>SD</italic>)</td><td align="left"><italic>n</italic></td><td align="left"><italic>M</italic> (<italic>SD</italic>)</td><td /><td align="left">Effect Size</td><td align="left"><italic>SE</italic></td></tr><tr><td>Age</td><td> 2,204</td><td>15.30 (0.44)</td><td> 1,589</td><td>15.32 (0.49)</td><td>.298</td><td>−.04</td><td>.015</td></tr><tr><td>Eighth-grade math</td><td> 2,001</td><td>−0.01 (0.98)</td><td> 1,414</td><td>0.04 (1.00)</td><td>.125</td><td>−.05</td><td>.035</td></tr><tr><td>Eighth-grade reading</td><td> 2,175</td><td>0.01 (0.98)</td><td> 1,565</td><td>0.02 (1.01)</td><td>.670</td><td>−.01</td><td>.033</td></tr><tr><td>Pre-intervention absences</td><td> 1,718</td><td>6.37 (4.96)</td><td> 1,212</td><td>6.62 (5.36)</td><td>0.204</td><td>−0.05</td><td>0.195</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 <emph>Note.</emph> Means for binary variables are reported as percentages. For continuous variables, standard deviations (<emph>SD</emph>s) are shown in parentheses below the mean. Effect sizes represent standardized differences between groups. For example, 58.7% of the treatment group was White compared to 61.3% of the control group with an effect size difference of −.05, which was not statistically significant.</p> <ulist> <item>2 The sample sizes in this table include the number of students for whom we have baseline data. Because this is an RCT with low attrition, we impute all missing characteristics in the full analyses. Eighth-grade math and reading scores are z-scores, which were standardized based on the sample.</item> <item>3 The bold numbers are those impacts that are statistically significant at the.05 or lower level.</item> <item>4 Statistical significance is denoted as follows: **<emph>p</emph> ≤.01.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0193364115-9">Data and Measures</hd> <p>Data on participation in extracurricular activities were obtained through surveys that were part of the state-mandated end-of-course (EoC) exams that were administered when students completed certain courses. For purposes of this study, we used exams that accompanied core courses taken by the majority of students: English 1, Biology, and U.S. History. Each exam included a section where students reported after-school participation in six categories of extracurricular activities: sports, academic, arts, vocational, service, and other activities. These activities did not have to be sponsored by the school, but students were supposed to answer only about participation in after-school activities. There were no definitions of the various categories provided to the students, so students were left to categorize their participation according to their own interpretations. For example, if a student participated in a Foreign Language Club or 4-H or Robotics, they could determine for themselves the category under which those activities would fall. Therefore, it is not clear which types of activities might fall in some of the buckets, including other. Students were asked to select "yes" if they participated and "no" if they did not. Yes responses were coded as 1 and no responses as 0. In cases where there were conflicting responses across exams in the same year, the positive response was used to capture any affirmative engagement (e.g., a code of 1 was given if students indicated yes to any activity in any exam). Given that students' exam-taking differed by year (as shown in Table 2), we created two types of outcome variables:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <emph>Ninth-grade participation:</emph> This outcome looked at whether students participated in extracurriculars in ninth grade because most students completed at least one EoC exam and took the associated survey in this grade. We looked separately for each type of extracurricular activity.</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Composite ever participating variables:</emph> To provide a broader view of students' engagement, this outcome captures participation in extracurriculars in any of the years in which students took an exam. Students were coded as 1 if they ever participated in an activity across grades and 0 if they never participated in that activity. In all cases where students had different indications of participation across years or exams, the student always received credit for participation.</item> </ulist> <p>Table 2. Survey-Taking by Grade Level.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" /><th align="left" colspan="3">Extracurricular Survey Response</th></tr><tr><th align="left" /><th align="left">Treatment <italic>n</italic></th><th align="left">Control <italic>n</italic></th><th align="left">Total <italic>N</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Grade 9</td><td>2,250</td><td>1,585</td><td>3,835</td></tr><tr><td>Grade 10</td><td>1,502</td><td>1,117</td><td>2,619</td></tr><tr><td>Grade 11</td><td>947</td><td>619</td><td>1,566</td></tr><tr><td>Grade 12</td><td>89</td><td>43</td><td>132</td></tr><tr><td>Total unique students</td><td>2,268</td><td>1,610</td><td>3,878</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>5 <emph>Note.</emph> This table displays the number of students in each grade who had the opportunity to respond to the extracurricular participation survey. Because students could take the relevant coursework in different grades, response counts vary by grade level. The totals reflect unique students who had the opportunity to report on their extracurricular participation. For example, in ninth grade, 2,250 treatment students and 1,585 control students were asked questions about extracurriculars on their end-of-course exams.</p> <p>Students took the exams when they took the courses and students could take the courses in different grades. Because English I was the most commonly taken exam, we prioritized responses to English I for both the ninth grade and <emph>Ever</emph> variables with responses for the remaining courses filled in as needed. A participation indicator always trumped a non-participation indicator (see above). As shown in Table 2, the individual grade with the largest number of respondents was ninth grade with response rates declining over time until very few students responded in Grade 12. It is important to note that Table 2 shows the number of students who had the opportunity to report on their extracurricular participation, not whether or not they actually participated.</p> <p>The extracurricular questions on the end-of-course exams were also phased out after 2012. Thus, students in different cohorts had differing numbers of years for which they were able to respond to the survey questions. Table A1 in the Appendix section shows the inclusion of the extracurricular questions by sample cohort. An important implication of both Table 2 and Table A1 is that we have better coverage in the early years of a student's high school experience. We discuss this further in the limitations section.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-10">Analyses</hd> <p>We used multiple linear regression models to estimate the impact of early college assignment on extracurricular participation across six activity categories. Separate models were run for each outcome of interest, with treatment status serving as the independent variable and participation in the extracurriculars serving as the dependent variable. We also included site-by-cohort dummy variables, and baseline covariates: economically disadvantaged status, first-generation college student status, gifted and talented status, race/ethnicity (Black, White, Latine), gender, eighth-grade math and reading scores, age, and total absences prior to intervention. Data on the baseline covariates were collected when students were in middle school, before their enrollment in early college or traditional high school. Weights were applied to account for sample design and differential selection probabilities.</p> <p>We analyzed results separately for the ninth-grade and <emph>ever</emph> variables. Multiple imputation with ten datasets addressed missing data in baseline covariates, and Rubin's rules were used to pool estimates ([<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref57">35</reflink>]). Outcome variables were reset to missing in each imputed dataset to ensure unbiased estimation. Robust standard errors clustered by high school accounted for the hierarchical structure. Cases with fewer than five students per cluster or missing data were assigned to a "small" cluster to stabilize variance estimation.</p> <p>To address the second research question around impacts by subgroups, we conducted subgroup analyses to examine differential effects of early colleges by four subgroups of interest: gender (students were identified as male or female in the data), economically disadvantaged status, first-generation college-goer student status, and underrepresented racial and ethnic (URE) group status (students who were Black, Latine or Native American were considered as students who were historically underrepresented in college; students who were White, Asian[<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref58">8</reflink>] or multiracial were considered as not underrepresented). Separate models for each subgroup assessed impacts on extracurricular participation. We examined differences in estimated effects between subgroups as well. We limited subgroup analyses to the ever participating outcome because it had the larger sample size.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-11">Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0193364115-12">Overall Impacts</hd> <p>The results show that, in both of our measures, early college students were statistically significantly less likely to ever participate in any extracurricular activities than their peers in comprehensive high schools, although the impact was relatively small (approximately 4–5 percentage points).</p> <p>Table 3 displays the means, standard deviations, and mean differences for each of the ninth-grade outcomes. In the ninth grade, early college students participated in extracurricular activities at a statistically significantly lower rate, although the results differed by specific extracurricular activity. For example, early college students were statistically significantly less likely to participate in sports and vocational activities, with mean differences of −4.4 percentage points (<emph>p</emph> =.011) and −4.8 percentage points (<emph>p</emph> <.001), respectively. There were no significant differences in participation in arts, academic, or service activities. Notably, early college students participated more frequently in other extracurricular activities compared to the comparison group, with a mean difference of +3.7 percentage points (<emph>p</emph> =.028).</p> <p>Table 3. Ninth-Grade Outcomes for the Analytic Sample and Estimated Effects.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2">Extracurricular Activity (ninth)</th><th align="left">Treatment (<italic>n</italic> = 2,250)</th><th align="left">Control (<italic>n</italic> = 1,585)</th><th align="left" colspan="2">Impacts</th><th align="left" /></tr><tr><th align="left">Adjusted Mean (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>M</italic> (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th align="left">Impact Estimate (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left">Standard Error (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>p</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Sports</td><td>35.6</td><td>40.0</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>4*</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td>.<bold>011</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Academic</td><td>11.4</td><td>9.8</td><td>1.5</td><td>1.1</td><td>.164</td></tr><tr><td>Arts</td><td>21.5</td><td>23.7</td><td>−2.2</td><td>1.5</td><td>.143</td></tr><tr><td>Vocational</td><td>3.6</td><td>8.4</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>8***</bold></td><td>0.9</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Service</td><td>9.4</td><td>9.7</td><td>−0.4</td><td>1.1</td><td>.732</td></tr><tr><td>Other activity</td><td>32.5</td><td>28.8</td><td><bold>3</bold>.<bold>7*</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td>.<bold>028</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Any</td><td>69.2</td><td>73.2</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>1*</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td>.<bold>014</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>6 <emph>Note.</emph> The adjusted mean is calculated by adding the impact estimate to the control mean.</item> <item>7 The treatment and control columns show the percentage of students who reported participating in extracurriculars in the ninth grade. For example, 35.6% of treatment students reported participating in sports, compared to 40.0% of control students, a statistically significant negative difference of 4.4 percentage points.</item> <item>8 The bold numbers are those impacts that are statistically significant at the.05 or lower level.</item> <item>9 Statistical significance is denoted as follows: *<emph>p</emph> <.05. ***<emph>p</emph><emph><</emph>.001.</item> </ulist> <p>Table 4 presents the results for the <emph>ever participating</emph> outcome. When looking across all high school grades, early college students were statistically significantly less likely to ever participate in extracurricular activities, with an overall impact of approximately −5.0 percentage points. Differences in participation patterns were evident across activity types. Early college students were less likely to participate in sports (–4.6 percentage points, <emph>p</emph> =.008), arts (–4.0 percentage points, <emph>p</emph> =.011), and vocational activities (–10.2 percentage points, <emph>p</emph> <.001). As with the ninth-grade outcome, the largest negative effect was observed in vocational activities, where early college students participated less than half as frequently as comparison students. In contrast, there were no significant differences in participation in academic, service or other activities.</p> <p>Table 4. Impact on Ever Participating in Extracurricular Activities, Overall.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2">Extracurricular Activity (Ever)</th><th align="left">Treatment (<italic>N</italic> = 2,268)</th><th align="left">Control (<italic>N</italic> = 1,610)</th><th align="left" colspan="2">Impacts</th><th align="left" /></tr><tr><th align="left">Adjusted Mean (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>M</italic> (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th align="left">Impact Estimate (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left">Standard Error (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>p</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Sports</td><td>40.6</td><td>45.2</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>6**</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td>.<bold>008</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Academic</td><td>16.9</td><td>16.8</td><td>0.0</td><td>1.3</td><td>.972</td></tr><tr><td>Arts</td><td>27.0</td><td>31.1</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>0*</bold></td><td>1.6</td><td>.<bold>011</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Vocational</td><td>7.3</td><td>17.5</td><td><bold>−10</bold>.<bold>2***</bold></td><td>1.1</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Service</td><td>17.9</td><td>19.4</td><td>−1.5</td><td>1.3</td><td>.274</td></tr><tr><td>Other activity</td><td>45.0</td><td>42.4</td><td>2.5</td><td>1.8</td><td>.147</td></tr><tr><td>Any</td><td>77.4</td><td>82.4</td><td><bold>−5</bold>.<bold>0***</bold></td><td>1.5</td><td>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>10 <emph>Note.</emph> The treatment and control columns show the percentage of students who reported ever participating in extracurriculars. For example, 40.6% of treatment students reported participating in sports, compared to 45.2% of control students, a statistically significant negative difference of 4.6 percentage points.</item> <item>11 The adjusted mean is calculated by adding the impact estimate to the control mean.</item> <item>12 The bold numbers are those impacts that are statistically significant at the.05 or lower level.</item> <item>13 Statistical significance is denoted as follows: *<emph>p</emph> <.05. **<emph>p</emph><emph><</emph>.01. ***<emph>p</emph><emph><</emph>.001.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0193364115-13">Impacts by Subgroup</hd> <p>The subgroup analyses provide further insight into the differential impacts of early colleges on extracurricular participation across key student characteristics, including gender, economically disadvantaged status, first-generation college student status, and by whether students were members of racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in college (URE). As a reminder, the URE group included students who were Black, Latine, or Native American. The findings indicate some differences in participation across subgroups and activity types. Table 5 provides the mean, mean difference, and standard errors between the early college students and comparison students for each subgroup and extracurricular activity.</p> <p>Table 5. Impact on Ever Participating in Extracurricular Activities, by Subgroup.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2">Extracurricular Activity</th><th align="left" rowspan="2">Subgroup</th><th align="left">Treatment Group</th><th align="left">Control Group</th><th align="left" colspan="2">Estimated Effects</th><th align="left" /></tr><tr><th>Adjusted Man (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th><italic>M</italic> (<italic>%</italic>)</th><th>Mean diff. (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th>Standard Error (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th><italic>p</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="8">Sports</td><td>Male</td><td>43.8</td><td>50.0</td><td><bold>−6</bold>.<bold>2*</bold></td><td>2.6</td><td>.<bold>016</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>36.5</td><td>42.0</td><td><bold>−5</bold>.<bold>6**</bold></td><td>2.1</td><td>.<bold>009</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>39.4</td><td>42.3</td><td>−2.8</td><td>2.4</td><td>.231</td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>39.2</td><td>47.3</td><td><bold>−8</bold>.<bold>1***</bold></td><td>2.4</td><td>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>38.8</td><td>39.1</td><td>−0.3</td><td>2.8</td><td>.901</td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>39.2</td><td>48.1</td><td><bold>−8</bold>.<bold>9***</bold></td><td>2.3</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>45.9</td><td>50.4</td><td>−4.5</td><td>2.8</td><td>.108</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>36.0</td><td>42.7</td><td><bold>−6</bold>.<bold>6***</bold></td><td>2.0</td><td>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Academic</td><td>Male</td><td>11.3</td><td>9.7</td><td>1.5</td><td>1.7</td><td>.357</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>12.6</td><td>9.9</td><td><bold>2</bold>.<bold>8*</bold></td><td>1.4</td><td>.<bold>041</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>12.6</td><td>8.3</td><td><bold>4</bold>.<bold>3**</bold></td><td>1.5</td><td>.<bold>005</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>11.3</td><td>11.4</td><td>−0.1</td><td>1.5</td><td>.928</td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>11.3</td><td>8.3</td><td>3.1</td><td>1.7</td><td>.067</td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>11.8</td><td>11.0</td><td>0.8</td><td>1.5</td><td>.590</td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>12.3</td><td>9.1</td><td>3.2</td><td>1.8</td><td>.080</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>11.7</td><td>10.2</td><td>1.5</td><td>1.3</td><td>.234</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Arts</td><td>Male</td><td>18.6</td><td>23.8</td><td><bold>−5</bold>.<bold>2*</bold></td><td>2.1</td><td>.<bold>016</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>32.7</td><td>35.7</td><td>−3.1</td><td>2.1</td><td>.141</td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>26.0</td><td>27.9</td><td>−1.9</td><td>2.2</td><td>.379</td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>27.9</td><td>34.3</td><td><bold>−6</bold>.<bold>4**</bold></td><td>2.2</td><td>.<bold>003</bold></td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>21.6</td><td>27.8</td><td><bold>−6</bold>.<bold>2*</bold></td><td>2.5</td><td>.<bold>013</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>30.1</td><td>34.6</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>6*</bold></td><td>2.2</td><td>.<bold>036</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>28.4</td><td>24.6</td><td>3.8</td><td>2.5</td><td>.131</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>26.1</td><td>34.4</td><td><bold>−8</bold>.<bold>2***</bold></td><td>1.9</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Vocational</td><td>Male</td><td>6.7</td><td>16.0</td><td><bold>−9</bold>.<bold>3***</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>9.5</td><td>18.6</td><td><bold>−9</bold>.<bold>1***</bold></td><td>1.5</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>8.1</td><td>16.4</td><td><bold>−8</bold>.<bold>3***</bold></td><td>1.6</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>8.4</td><td>18.4</td><td><bold>−10</bold>.<bold>0***</bold></td><td>1.6</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>6.7</td><td>19.5</td><td><bold>−12</bold>.<bold>8***</bold></td><td>2.0</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>8.4</td><td>17.5</td><td><bold>−9</bold>.<bold>1***</bold></td><td>1.6</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>9.0</td><td>16.9</td><td><bold>−7</bold>.<bold>9***</bold></td><td>1.9</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>7.8</td><td>17.9</td><td><bold>−10</bold>.<bold>1***</bold></td><td>1.4</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Service</td><td>Male</td><td>15.0</td><td>16.5</td><td>−1.5</td><td>1.9</td><td>.421</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>21.6</td><td>21.4</td><td>0.2</td><td>1.8</td><td>.913</td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>16.7</td><td>14.9</td><td>1.8</td><td>1.8</td><td>.324</td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>20.1</td><td>23.5</td><td>−3.4</td><td>2.0</td><td>.086</td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>16.8</td><td>15.7</td><td>1.1</td><td>2.2</td><td>.598</td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>20.8</td><td>22.8</td><td>−2.0</td><td>1.9</td><td>.285</td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>16.8</td><td>17.1</td><td>−0.3</td><td>2.1</td><td>.904</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>19.8</td><td>20.6</td><td>−0.9</td><td>1.7</td><td>.602</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Other activity</td><td>Male</td><td>44.4</td><td>41.5</td><td>2.9</td><td>2.6</td><td>.272</td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>46.7</td><td>43.0</td><td>3.8</td><td>2.1</td><td>.079</td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>43.2</td><td>37.4</td><td><bold>5</bold>.<bold>8*</bold></td><td>2.4</td><td>.<bold>014</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>47.3</td><td>46.6</td><td>0.7</td><td>2.4</td><td>.783</td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>39.1</td><td>37.4</td><td>1.7</td><td>2.8</td><td>.545</td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>49.4</td><td>48.0</td><td>1.3</td><td>2.3</td><td>.565</td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>40.1</td><td>34.9</td><td>5.2</td><td>2.7</td><td>.057</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>48.3</td><td>46.2</td><td>2.1</td><td>2.1</td><td>.307</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="8">Any</td><td>Male</td><td>76.1</td><td>82.1</td><td><bold>−6</bold>.<bold>1**</bold></td><td>2.2</td><td>.<bold>005</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Female</td><td>77.6</td><td>82.5</td><td><bold>−4</bold>.<bold>9**</bold></td><td>1.8</td><td>.<bold>006</bold></td></tr><tr><td>Econ. dis.</td><td>75.3</td><td>76.4</td><td>−1.2</td><td>2.2</td><td>.594</td></tr><tr><td>Not econ. dis.</td><td>77.8</td><td>87.7</td><td><bold>−9</bold>.<bold>9***</bold></td><td>1.8</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>First gen.</td><td>73.4</td><td>75.0</td><td>−1.6</td><td>2.6</td><td>.522</td></tr><tr><td>Not first gen.</td><td>78.9</td><td>87.1</td><td><bold>−8</bold>.<bold>2***</bold></td><td>1.7</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE</td><td>78.5</td><td>79.8</td><td>−1.3</td><td>2.5</td><td>.602</td></tr><tr><td>Not URE</td><td>75.8</td><td>83.7</td><td><bold>−7</bold>.<bold>9***</bold></td><td>1.6</td><td><bold><</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>14 <emph>Note.</emph> This table presents the percentage of treatment and control students in each subgroup who reported ever participating in extracurricular activities. For example, 43.8% of male treatment students reported participating sports compared to 50.0% of male control students, a statistically significant negative impact of 6.2 percentage points.</item> <item>15 The adjusted mean for the treatment group is calculated by adding the impact estimate to the control group mean. Sample sizes by subgroup are as follows: gender (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,237; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,604), economically disadvantaged status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,175; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,568), first-generation status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 1,979; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,335), and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (URE) Status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,259; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,606).</item> <item>16 The bold numbers are those impacts that are statistically significant at the.05 or lower level.</item> <item>17 Statistical significance is denoted as follows: *<emph>p</emph> <.05. **<emph>p</emph><emph><.</emph>01. ***<emph>p</emph><emph><</emph>.001.</item> </ulist> <p>The impact of early college on after-school sports participation was negative across most subgroups with early college students less likely than their peers in traditional schools to play sports; however, the magnitude of the effect varied by subgroup. For gender, the adjusted mean difference in sports participation between the treatment and control groups were negative and similar for male students and female students. There were statistically significantly negative impacts for students who were not economically disadvantaged, who were not first-generation college students, and who were not members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Negative impacts were smaller in magnitude and not statistically significant for early college students who were economically disadvantaged, first-generation, and members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.</p> <p>For academic extracurricular activities, the impact of early college varied substantially across subgroups. Female and economically disadvantaged students in the early college participated at significantly higher rates than control students. However, there were no significant differences for male students or those not economically disadvantaged or by underrepresented status.</p> <p>Participation in arts activities showed generally negative results across subgroups (most of which were statistically significant) with one exception. Students who were members of racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in college were descriptively more likely to participate in after-school arts activities although the difference between treatment and control groups was not statistically significant.</p> <p>The impact of early colleges on vocational activities was consistently negative across all subgroups. There were no statistically significant differences in service activities across any subgroup, suggesting that early colleges had little to no effect on participation in this category.</p> <p>For other extracurricular activities, early college had a positive impact for economically disadvantaged students (+5.8 percentage points, <emph>p</emph> =.014) who experienced significant increases in participation. Other subgroups also showed a positive trend, although the result was not statistically significant.</p> <p>Participation in any extracurricular activity also had results that differed by subgroup. Male and female early college students participated significantly less than their counterparts in the control group (–6.1 and −4.9 percentage points, respectively). Non-underrepresented students, non-economically disadvantaged students and non-first-generation students also experienced a negative impact. Conversely, there were no significant differences for underrepresented students, first generation students, or those who were economically disadvantaged.</p> <p>Given the varying impacts we saw, we further explored whether subgroups were differentially impacted; in other words, whether one group was more or less impacted than another. Table 6 shows the difference between the impacts on two mutually exclusive subgroups (e.g., male and female or economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged) and whether that difference is statistically significant. This provides insight as to whether the model differentially impacts some subgroups more than others.</p> <p>Table 6. Difference in Ever Outcomes Between Subgroups in Analytic Sample.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left">Extracurricular Activity</th><th align="left">Subgroup Comparison</th><th align="left">Mean diff. (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left">Standard Error (<italic>pp</italic>)</th><th align="left"><italic>p</italic></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td rowspan="4">Sports</td><td>Male vs. Female</td><td>−0.7</td><td>3.4</td><td>.840</td></tr><tr><td>Econ Disadvantage vs. Not</td><td>5.3</td><td>3.3</td><td>.112</td></tr><tr><td>First-Generation vs. Not</td><td><bold>8</bold>.<bold>6*</bold></td><td>3.6</td><td>.<bold>017</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td>2.2</td><td>3.5</td><td>.533</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Academic</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−1.1</td><td>2.6</td><td>.654</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td>4.4</td><td>2.5</td><td>.082</td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td>3.3</td><td>2.8</td><td>.239</td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td>−0.4</td><td>2.7</td><td>.874</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Arts</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−2.1</td><td>3.0</td><td>.474</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td>4.5</td><td>3.1</td><td>.137</td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td>−1.6</td><td>3.3</td><td>.620</td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td><bold>12</bold>.<bold>0***</bold></td><td>3.1</td><td><bold><0</bold>.<bold>001</bold></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Vocation</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−0.2</td><td>2.3</td><td>.946</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td>1.7</td><td>2.3</td><td>.448</td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td>−3.7</td><td>2.5</td><td>.142</td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td>2.2</td><td>2.3</td><td>.348</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Service</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−1.7</td><td>2.6</td><td>.511</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td>5.1</td><td>2.6</td><td>.053</td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td>3.2</td><td>2.9</td><td>.271</td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td>0.6</td><td>2.7</td><td>.817</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Other activity</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−0.9</td><td>3.4</td><td>.793</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td>5.2</td><td>3.3</td><td>.123</td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td>0.3</td><td>3.6</td><td>.923</td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td>3.1</td><td>3.4</td><td>.367</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">Any</td><td>Male vs. female</td><td>−1.1</td><td>2.8</td><td>.684</td></tr><tr><td>Econ disadvantage vs. not</td><td><bold>8</bold>.<bold>8**</bold></td><td>2.8</td><td>.<bold>002</bold></td></tr><tr><td>First-generation vs. not</td><td><bold>6</bold>.<bold>6*</bold></td><td>3.1</td><td>.<bold>032</bold></td></tr><tr><td>URE vs. Not</td><td><bold>6</bold>.<bold>6*</bold></td><td>3.0</td><td>.<bold>025</bold></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <ulist> <item>18 <emph>Note.</emph> This table presents differences in extracurricular participation impacts between mutually exclusive student subgroups. Each value in the mean difference column reflects the difference in impact estimates between the two listed groups and whether that difference is statistically significant. For example, males had a slightly more negative impact than females (the difference between the two sets of impacts shown in Table 5 is −0.7 percentage points); however, that difference was not statistically significant.</item> <item>19 Sample sizes by subgroup are as follows: gender (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,237; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,604), Economically disadvantaged status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,175; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,568), first-generation status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 1,979; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,335), and underrepresented racial and ethnic (URE) group Status (treatment <emph>n</emph> = 2,259; control <emph>n</emph> = 1,606).</item> <item>20 Statistical significance is denoted as follows: *<emph>p</emph> <.05. **<emph>p</emph><emph><</emph>.01. ***<emph>p</emph> <.001.</item> </ulist> <p>As the mostly nonsignificant differences in Table 6 show, most subgroups experienced similar impacts. For example, the impacts on academic, vocational activities, service, and other activities for sets of mutually exclusive subgroups were not statistically significantly different from each other. There were a couple of notable exceptions, however. For sports, most subgroups had similar impacts except for first generation status where non-first-generation students were significantly more negatively impacted than first-generation students. Arts participation revealed the most sizeable difference among subgroups, with early college underrepresented students experiencing a more positive impact on participation compared to non-underrepresented students (differential impact of 12.0 percentage points, <emph>p</emph> <.001). When examining participation in any extracurricular activity, the populations that were most negatively impacted were non-economically disadvantaged students, non-first-generation students, and non-underrepresented students.</p> <p>In summary, the subgroup analyses reveal that the early college model has some interesting patterns. Specifically, students who were not targeted populations of the early college (non-economically disadvantaged, non-first generation and non-underrepresented) experienced more negative impacts on participation, while students who were members of the targeted populations tended to have lower negative impacts or null impacts when compared to the control group. These findings highlight the importance of considering subgroup differences when evaluating the broader effects of the early college model and suggest opportunities for tailoring extracurricular opportunities to better support specific student populations.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-14">Discussion</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0193364115-15">Discussion of Results</hd> <p>Overall, our findings suggest that the qualitative studies looking at extracurricular participation in early colleges ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref59">1</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref60">4</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref61">38</reflink>]) are generally correct; early college students do participate in extracurriculars at a lower rate, although not necessarily as dramatically as some might expect. For example, participation in sports was a difference of approximately −5 percentage points, even though early colleges do not have the resources to field large sports teams. Recall that, in the beginning, we identified three possible explanations for lower participation in extracurriculars in the early college setting. The first was that the intensive academic focus may keep students from participating in extracurriculars, even in non-school-based settings. The second was that the early college may offer fewer opportunities as a result of its structure or location; and the third was that the early college may actually facilitate increased participation. Our findings suggest that the third hypothesis is not the case, so we discuss the other two.</p> <p>Our quantitative data do not allow us to look at the extent to which the academic focus led to students having less time to participate in extracurriculars as has been suggested by qualitative studies ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref62">1</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref63">4</reflink>]). Interestingly, despite the emphasis on academics, there was no significant difference in the percentage of students who ever participated in academic-related extracurriculars. This may be because some of the academic extracurriculars were coded as other by the early college students, or it may be because, given the extreme academic focus of the early colleges ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref64">1</reflink>]), the schools deliberately tried to create non-academic clubs in which students can participate.</p> <p>We do have some evidence to suggest that the structure or location may be part of the reason for lower participation rates. Seventeen of the 19 early colleges we studied were housed on community college campuses with the remaining two housed on university campuses. As noted earlier, students at community colleges participate in extracurricular activities at low rates ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref65">27</reflink>]), although we do have anecdotal evidence that some early college students became very involved in college activities.</p> <p>One of the possible explanations for the lack of a bigger gap in extracurricular participation is that in some districts, early college students are permitted to play sports or do other extracurriculars such as band or theater with their local comprehensive high school. Further, early colleges may provide more small-scale opportunities for students to participate in after-school activities. For example, instead of a football team where 40 out of 1,500 students in a school may participate, early colleges may offer a few lower-resource activities such as ultimate Frisbee where 15 students out of 300 participate.</p> <p>One area where there was a consistently large and significant difference in participation was related to vocational extracurriculars. This is not unexpected, given that vocational programming of any sort has not historically been an emphasis in the early college. Nevertheless, participation in vocational extracurricular activities can give students valuable skills, and early colleges may want to consider ways of expanding access to those opportunities for their students.</p> <p>Looking at results by subgroup presents a more nuanced picture. The findings suggest that some populations of students, particularly those who are often targeted by the early college (economically disadvantaged students, first generation college-goers and students who are members of racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in college), tend to participate at similar rates to their peers in comprehensive high schools. Nationally, economically disadvantaged students have been less likely to participate in any activities than more advantaged peers ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref66">29</reflink>]). This suggests that the early college might be providing extracurricular opportunities to populations that might have otherwise not been engaged in the regular high school. Other early college research has found that economically disadvantaged students, in particular, have larger impacts on traditional academic and attainment outcomes ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref67">11</reflink>]). We also note that students who traditionally participate in extracurriculars at higher rates in high school are the ones who had the most negative impacts. Future qualitative research may be needed to understand why this is.</p> <p>A reader may wonder whether extracurricular participation is really necessary in an academically-focused setting such as the early college. The research cited earlier suggests that extracurriculars provide opportunities for areas of personal development and growth that may not be supported in regular classroom settings ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref68">5</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref69">13</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref70">16</reflink>]). The early college qualitative research also suggests that students would like to participate in extracurriculars ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref71">38</reflink>]) and there is anecdotal evidence from our work that some students leave the early college due to a desire to engage in extracurriculars. Thus, offering early college students extracurriculars could build a range of students' skills and help keep students in the early college.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-16">Limitations</hd> <p>This study has substantial strengths associated with it, including the use of a RCT that allows us to capture unbiased estimates of the impact of the model; however, there are limitations. A primary limitation is that it presents a somewhat incomplete picture of extracurricular participation as our only source of data is the survey students took on their end of course exam, but most students do not take these exams in every grade. We get the most complete coverage of extracurricular participation in the 9th and 10th grades with spottier coverage in later grades, depending on when and whether students took the end-of-course exams. Although some research suggests that extracurricular participation levels more broadly do not really change over a student's time in high school ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref72">22</reflink>]), it is possible that early college students may participate in fewer after-school activities as they begin taking more and more college courses, generally in their junior or senior years. On the other hand, as teenagers become more independent as they move through high school, they may choose to ramp up their participation in extracurricular activities. Available data prevent us from fully capturing the difference in participation rates between the two groups.</p> <p>Two additional limitations are related to the fact that the survey was self-report data and to the way in which the questions were asked. For example, the survey questions ask about participation in after-school extracurriculars, but questions do not include students' participation during the school day. It is possible that early colleges may have embedded more clubs or other extracurriculars during the school day. Additionally, the extracurricular participation data is self-report with students identifying their own activities and placing them in the pre-coded categories. While students were more likely to be able to clearly identify some categories, such as sports or arts, other distinctions may have been less clear. For example, would a student identify participation in National Honor Society as <emph>academic</emph> (because the selection criteria to get in was based on academic performance) or <emph>service</emph> (because they have to meet a service requirement) or other? Thus, the results by category are dependent on how students perceived the activity.</p> <p>It is also important to note that the study utilizes results from a very specific model of the early college—the separate school model that is housed on a college campus. It is certainly possible that these findings would not apply to early colleges that are located on a high school campus or to dual enrollment programs that do not have the same level of course intensity.</p> <p>Finally, these data come from over 10 years ago and some of North Carolina's early colleges have been attempting to increase their extracurricular offerings or make it easier for students to participate in other activities in the district. It is possible that surveys administered today would give a somewhat different picture; regrettably, North Carolina no longer collects extracurricular participation data to allow us to test this question.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-17">Future Research</hd> <p>Participation in extracurriculars is valued because it gives students social experiences that can help them operate more successfully in later life ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref73">14</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref74">26</reflink>]). As noted in other research ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref75">1</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref76">4</reflink>]), students may see tradeoffs between the academic benefits of the early college and the possible social benefits that may come from other activities. Future research should explore the impact of early college on some of those longer-term life adjustment outcomes. There is some qualitative evidence that suggests that early college students may not be used to participating in extracurriculars and therefore may not later participate in extracurriculars after graduating and enrolling in college, which can make them feel less engaged in postsecondary institutions ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref77">4</reflink>]) but there is no research yet done on whether that is widespread and how that might compare to non-early college students also enrolled in postsecondary education. Future research may also want to explore the relationship between extracurricular participation and academic or other high school outcomes and whether that relationship differs in the early college setting as opposed to the regular high school setting.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-18">Conclusion</hd> <p>Programs that provide extensive academic acceleration, like the early college high school, are often critiqued because they have a higher focus on schoolwork and may de-emphasize extracurricular participation. This can be problematic because extracurricular participation is associated with a host of positive short-term and long-term outcomes including academic performance and social adjustment, and it can make students more competitive for college ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref78">26</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref79">33</reflink>]). This is the first study to use a large sample to look at the impact of the early college on students' participation in extracurriculars. Our findings do suggest an overall negative impact, although a somewhat smaller one than some people might have been anticipated.</p> <p>We have seen early colleges over time attempt to increase the extracurricular options for students, whether by allowing students to do sports at their home high school or by providing students with clubs, service activities, or social opportunities on the early college campus. In multiple site visits we conducted, early college principals described supporting students as they created clubs based on their own interests. It is possible that allowing students to create their own clubs and identifying volunteers to help run these clubs—even if they are not the large-scale opportunities at regular high schools—may help increase participation and give students the sense of socialization and leadership that they get from many extracurriculars. Further, early colleges could partner with traditional high schools or other community organizations so early college students could participate in those activities.</p> <hd id="AN0193364115-19">Appendix</hd> <p>Table A1. End-of-Course Exam Coverage by Cohort and Subject.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><colgroup><col align="left" /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /><col align="char" char="." /></colgroup><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2">Cohort</th><th align="left" colspan="3">EoC Exam Years Available</th><th align="left" rowspan="2">Total Sample Size</th></tr><tr><th align="left">English I</th><th align="left">Biology</th><th align="left">U.S. History</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p>2005–2006</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006–2007</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>212</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007–2008</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>427</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008–2009</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>936</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009–2010</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1,290</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010–2011</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1,065</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Overall</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>4,007</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>21 <emph>Note.</emph> For students who entered the ninth grade in 2005–2006, extracurricular participation data were available in English I, Biology, and U.S. History for all four years of their high school experience. 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College enhancement strategies and socioeconomic inequality. Research in Higher Education, 57(3), 310–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-015-9389-4</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Woodcock J. B., Beal H. K. O. (2013). Voices of early college high school graduates in Texas: A narrative study. The High School Journal, 97(1), 56–76. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2013.0021</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0193364115-21"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibtext> Julie A. Edmunds https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9439-8413 Marieke Visser https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3240-7801 Brian Phillips https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6623-2793</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, #05-6235.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Parental and student consent to participate in the research study was collected at the time of application to the early college. There was a subset of students for whom consent to link their name and birthdate with administrative data was waived; these were students who participated in lotteries prior to the study beginning.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Not applicable.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grants R305R060022, R305A110085, R305A140361 and R305H190036 and by a grant from Arnold Ventures to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). The views expressed here are of the authors and do not reflect those of the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, Arnold Ventures or UNCG.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Data are housed at the North Carolina Education Research Data Center at Duke University. Requestors must submit a proposal to the Center and to the authors.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> We are restricted by our data to identifying students as Asian, which would include those who identified as having their origins in any part of Asia and includes individuals who identify as Asian Americans. We use the term Asian to include both populations.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Julie A. Edmunds; Marieke Visser; Elizabeth J. Glennie and Brian Phillips</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author</p> <p></p> <p>Julie A. Edmunds, PhD, is the director of the Early College Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research focuses on the early college model, dual enrollment, and postsecondary pathways.</p> <p>Marieke Visser, PhD, is a quantitative research specialist at the Early College Research Center at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She is a methodologist with expertise in mixture modeling.</p> <p>Elizabeth J. Glennie, PhD, was a senior education research analyst at RTI International at the time that this research was completed. Her research focuses on factors influencing success in secondary school and access to postsecondary education, with an emphasis on programs targeted toward those underrepresented in college. She also examines the effects of work training programs for adolescents and adults on employment and earnings.</p> <p>Brian Phillips, MPA, is a policy researcher at RAND. His research focuses on postsecondary education, workforce development, and labor markets.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref17"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref19"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref20"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref23"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref24"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref25"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref33"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref34"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref41"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref48"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref49"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref55"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref56"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref57"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref67"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref72"></nolink>
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  Data: The Impact of Early College High Schools on Participation in Extracurricular Activities
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Julie+A%2E+Edmunds%22">Julie A. Edmunds</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9439-8413">0000-0002-9439-8413</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marieke+Visser%22">Marieke Visser</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3240-7801">0000-0003-3240-7801</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Elizabeth+J%2E+Glennie%22">Elizabeth J. Glennie</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brian+Phillips%22">Brian Phillips</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6623-2793">0000-0001-6623-2793</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Advanced+Academics%22"><i>Journal of Advanced Academics</i></searchLink>. 2026 37(2):251-275.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 25
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
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  Data: R305R060022<br />R305A110085<br />R305A140361<br />R305H190036
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Label: Education Level
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22High+Schools%22">High Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Secondary+Education%22">Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+9%22">Grade 9</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dual+Enrollment%22">Dual Enrollment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+School+Students%22">High School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Preparation%22">College Preparation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acceleration+%28Education%29%22">Acceleration (Education)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Participation%22">Student Participation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Extracurricular+Activities%22">Extracurricular Activities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Athletics%22">Athletics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Art%22">Art</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Career+and+Technical+Education%22">Career and Technical Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Access+to+Education%22">Access to Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socialization%22">Socialization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Leadership%22">Leadership</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clubs%22">Clubs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+9%22">Grade 9</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1177/1932202X251413053
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  Data: 1932-202X<br />2162-9536
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  Data: Early colleges combine high school and college, providing students with significant opportunities for academic acceleration. We examine whether the stand-alone early college model--with its academic emphasis, its small size and its location on a college campus--results in students being more or less likely to participate in extracurricular activities. Our study uses a randomized controlled trial in which eligible applicants were randomly assigned to attend the early college (treatment) or attend the business-as-usual condition (control). Our analyses found that treatment students were less likely to participate in extracurriculars in school than control students. This difference was primarily driven by lower participation by early college students in sports, arts, and vocational extracurriculars. These findings suggest that early college high schools--or other academically focused programs--may want to consider expanding access to extracurricular activities to give students the sense of socialization and leadership that they get from these experiences.
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  Data: 2026
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        Value: 10.1177/1932202X251413053
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 25
        StartPage: 251
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      – SubjectFull: Dual Enrollment
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      – SubjectFull: High School Students
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