A new report by MDRC, an independent, nonpartisan research organization, found that students in Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) programs in Texas were more than five times as likely as their schoolmates to earn a college credential within five years of starting high school (20 percent vs. 4 percent), were almost 7 times as likely to earn an associate degree within six years, and are starting to earn higher wages.
In the report, “P-TECH in Texas: What Happens After High School?” MDRC also found that P-TECH students graduated high school at higher rates (87 percent vs. 73 percent) and were more likely to go on to a four-year college (25 percent vs. 15 percent). Six years after starting high school, P-TECH students with jobs were earning about $2,000 more a year than their schoolmates, and MDRC notes that gap could keep growing.
“Overall, these findings provide promising evidence that the Texas investment in P-TECH is paying off, and provide a potential roadmap for other states or districts looking to implement similar models on a large scale,” according to the report.
P-TECH is a collaboration among a public high school, community college, and industry partner that gives students the chance to earn a free associate degree and direct connections to careers in technology and other growth fields including education, green jobs, public safety, and advanced manufacturing. The first school was founded in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood and was recently ranked by Public School Review as the highest performing open admission high school among over 500 public high schools across New York State. The model has spread across 12 U.S. states and 28 countries and now includes more than 600 schools, creating a clear pathway from school to college to career.
In the Texas study, P-TECH students across racial groups and genders, and in urban, suburban, and rural areas, did better than their schoolmates. Rural students showed the largest differences in both credentials and earnings. Among racial and ethnic groups, the largest differences were in college enrollment for Black students and in credential attainment for Hispanic students. Nearly 80 percent of P-TECH students in the study came from low-income families (classified by the state as economically disadvantaged). Texas P-TECH programs are open enrollment, with no admissions screening, and state law directs them to recruit students considered at risk, including English learners and students who have not passed state tests.
The Texas Education Agency was the architect of P-TECH in Texas, in partnership with the P-TECH Alliance and Educate Texas, a statewide nonprofit that championed the early adoption of the model and has supported recruitment and provided technical support for dynamic school models, including P-TECH, across the state. The study looked at 34,941 students, in 65 of Texas’s nearly 250 P-TECH schools and programs including 7,744 who enrolled in P-TECH. Texas has the most schools using the P-TECH model, and the state’s linked education and workforce data made it possible to follow P-TECH students from high school into college and the workforce. Texas recently tripled its per-pupil funding for P-TECH, and education leaders plan to expand it to 800 high schools over the next three years.
“MDRC’s findings show what’s possible when schools, colleges, and employers work together toward a shared goal: students who leave high school with more than a diploma,” said Kerri Briggs, Ph.D., executive director of Educate Texas, an initiative of Communities Foundation of Texas. “Through our partnership with the Texas Education Agency, we’ve helped schools across the state build pathways from the classroom to college credentials and good careers. P-TECH is open to all students, and this research shows that students in these programs, including those from low-income families and rural communities, are graduating and earning college credentials at higher rates than their schoolmates. As Texas grows P-TECH, Educate Texas’s focus is on making sure every program delivers results like these.”
The report expands on MDRC’s earlier research, which showed that students in the original seven P-TECH schools in New York City were 5 percentage points more likely to earn associate degrees seven years after they entered high school.
The Texas findings are consistent with results in other states where P-TECH has grown. In Prince George’s County, Maryland, 90 percent of P-TECH graduates in 2022-23 earned both a high school diploma and an associate degree at no cost to them, and 94 percent of those students went directly to a four-year college. In Colorado, a study by the state legislature found P-TECH students had improved attendance, discipline, and persistence in college, concluding that the model “yields outstanding student outcomes.” The P-TECH school in Rochester, Minnesota, which partners with the Mayo Clinic, has graduated two cohorts so far, with 135 students earning college credit, saving families more than $826,000 in tuition. One graduate earned a full ride to Duke University; three are in medical school while working as nurses.
“Over the years, research shows when students have meaningful incentives and support in a clear path from school to college to career, they tackle rigorous coursework and obtain a college degree,” said former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “P-TECH students, who are largely low income and often below grade level when beginning grade 9, can succeed. As President Obama said when we visited the first P-TECH school together, every student should have opportunities like P-TECH.”
Stanley Litow, founder of the P-TECH model and former president of the IBM Foundation, noted that the P-TECH students in the study showed impressive progress in school, college, and work. “If P-TECH became the model for high schools and colleges in the U.S., we could see a 13.6 percentage point increase in college graduates,” he said. “Hundreds of thousands of additional college graduates every year could put the U.S. economy on steroids, help address the affordability crisis, and increase tax revenues for our schools, colleges, and hospitals.”
The nonprofit P-TECH Alliance supports the model by working with states, districts, colleges, and business partners to expand the number of students, pathways, and schools in the P-TECH movement.
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