Early College Credits

District of Columbia Public Schools’ CTE department is committed to student postsecondary success. Students are exposed to college credits through Dual Enrollment, Credit by Assessment, and/or Articulation Agreements.

Dual Enrollment
Dual Enrollment offers students the opportunity to maintain their high school status while enrolling part-time at participating local universities. DCPS’ Dual Enrollment program offers students the opportunity to take a class at a local college (American: School of Education, Catholic University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University, UDC Flagship, and UDC-CC).

Students interested in applying for Dual Enrollment must first speak to their school counselor to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria and have schedule availability to participate in the program.

For additional Dual Enrollment information visit DCPS’ Dual Enrollment FAQ page.

Credit by Assessments
CTE typically participates in three types of Credit by Assessments: AP Exams, CLEP Exams, and HESI Entrance Exam. While the AP Exams are the only Credit by Assessment currently offered at DCPS, the CTE department is continually evaluating the most feasible options for students.

AP Exams are standardized exams designed to measure how well students have mastered the content and skills of a specific AP course.

To access information on specific AP Exams offered, students should ask course teachers or school counselor if their school administers AP Exam.

Articulation Agreements
Articulation Agreements allow CTE students to earn college credit for CTE work completed during high school. Each Articulation Agreement can vary. Articulation Agreements may stipulate that students must maintain a certain Grade Point Average (GPA) in the CTE course, graduate from high school, and/or use the credits within a certain time following high school graduation.

The Agreements are beneficial to students for numerous reasons:

  • Articulation Agreements allow CTE students to skip some basic, foundational, or 100-level courses that may be required by the college. This saves time and money and enable students to take advanced college courses sooner in their college careers.
  • Articulation Agreements enable students to graduate high school with college credits without paying college tuition. While earning college credits under an Articulation Agreement, high school students do not pay college tuition.
  • College credits earned through Articulation Agreements can be transferable to other post-secondary institutions.

DCPS collaborates with post-secondary institutions to match the content of Career and Technical Education programs with the content of college-level courses. As a result, several CTE programs have an Articulation Agreement with at least one college. With the expansion of the CTE department, the district is working to increase the number of Articulation Agreements.

Current Articulation Agreements:

Computer Science CTE Pathway

  • University of Maryland Eastern Shore (5 College Credits)
  • Bowie State University (10 College Credits)

IT/Networking CTE Pathway

  • Bowie State University (7 College Credits)

Engineering CTE Pathway

  • University of Maryland Eastern Shore (3 College Credits)

Parents and student must meet with the CTE Instructor and/or school counselor to express interest in an Articulation Agreement(s).

For additional resources regarding Articulation Agreements, contact the Director of Career Technology Education Programs, Clifton Martin.