Examining Effects of Advanced Course Automatic Enrollment Policies and Automatic Notification Tools
Students who take advanced courses in high school are more likely to experience positive academic outcomes, yet many academically prepared students are never identified for these opportunities through traditional nomination processes.
Academic acceleration policies use universal screening and behavioral nudges to identify students who demonstrate readiness, often based on proficiency on state assessments, and automatically enroll them in advanced coursework. While policies such as Algebra for All have been widely studied, less is known about newer acceleration policies designed to increase participation among students who have already demonstrated academic readiness for advanced courses.
AIR examined two approaches to increasing participation in advanced high school courses among academically prepared students.
Key Takeaways
Automatic Enrollment Policies
In Washington state, using universal screening and automatic enrollment increased participation in advanced courses without lowering students' GPAs or graduation rates. The largest gains occurred among students from groups that have historically had lower participation in advanced courses. However, implementing automatic enrollment in rades 11 and 12 did not significantly affect students' college outcomes.
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Automatic Notification Tool
AIR developed and tested an automatic notification tool that universally screened students in Grade 9 and informed students, families, and counselors when students were ready for advanced coursework. The tool did not increase Grade 10 advanced course participation for most students, but it increased Grade 10 advanced course enrollment and completion among English Learners. The tool also increased Grade 11 advanced course planning by 22-24 percentage points across all students.
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Taken together, these studies suggest that universal screening paired with behavioral or informational nudges can help identify academically prepared students who might otherwise be overlooked. However, the two approaches may work best in tandem: districts and schools need tools to implement academic acceleration policies as intended, and automatic notification tools may be more effective when paired with additional guidance or supports.
Impact of Washington State's Academic Acceleration Policy
Washington state's academic acceleration policy aims to increase access to advanced high school courses by reducing barriers to participation. First adopted by some districts and expanded statewide in 2019, the policy uses universal screening and automatic enrollment to help academically prepared students access advanced coursework.
AIR examined the effects of district-level automatic enrollment policies on students' participation in advanced courses and their subsequent high school achievement and attainment.
Key Findings
Academic acceleration policies helped more students take advanced courses without harming their academic performance.
After districts implemented academic acceleration policies:
- Advanced math course enrollment increased among students who scored proficient or higher on state math assessments.
- Advanced English language arts (ELA) and social studies course enrollment increased among students who scored proficient or higher on state ELA assessments.
- Gains were especially large for students who are Black, Hispanic, and/or from low-income families, helping narrow longstanding participation gaps in advanced coursework.
- Students' GPAs and on-time high school graduation rates remained stable.
AIR also examined the effects of automatic enrollment on college outcomes. We found academic acceleration policies did not significantly affect college enrollment, first-year college coursework, or persistence into a second year of college.
Why It Matters
These findings provide evidence that universal screening and automatic enrollment can increase advanced course participation among students who demonstrate readiness. However, implementing these policies in rades 11 and 12 may occur too late to influence students' college plans, expectations, or readiness.
Policymakers and educators seeking to improve college outcomes may achieve greater impact by implementing universal screening and automatic enrollment earlier in students' academic careers and pairing advanced course placement with advising, counseling, or academic supports.
Effects of an Automatic Notification Tool
AIR developed an automatic notification tool as a scalable alternative to automatic enrollment policies. Like automatic enrollment, the tool used universal screening to identify students who demonstrated readiness for advanced coursework. Unlike automatic enrollment, the tool provided notifications informing students, families, and counselors about advanced course opportunities and encouraging them to consider advanced courses while leaving course selection decisions in students' hands.
AIR tested the tool through a randomized controlled trial involving 110 schools in 44 districts nationwide.
Key Findings
The automatic notification tool produced limited effects in Grade 10 but large positive effects in Grade 11. In schools that were given the notification tool:
- Students were no more or less likely overall to plan, attempt, or complete an advanced course in Grade 10.
- English Learners were more likely to enroll in and successfully complete an advanced course in Grade 10.
- Students were 22-24 percentage points more likely to plan to take an advanced math and/or ELA course in Grade 11 than students in the control group.
Why It Matters
The automatic notification tool was intentionally designed to be highly scalable and low-touch. Schools did not provide additional communication beyond the notification itself, which may have limited awareness and engagement among students, families, and counselors. Despite this limitation, the findings suggest that notifying students early in high school may give them more time to prepare for advanced courses later in high school.
The findings also suggest that notification-based approaches may be most effective when paired with additional implementation supports. Districts and schools may increase impact by:
- Encouraging students and families to review course recommendations before course planning begins.
- Ensuring counselors understand which students receive notifications and can discuss recommendations during course planning conversations.
- Reviewing advanced course availability and expanding capacity where demand may increase.
Although these strategies require greater school and district involvement, stronger implementation may increase participation and produce larger effects than those observed in this study.
