The Maricopa Community Colleges' system cannot readily track the number of students who earned an associate's degree while they were still in high school.

But an increasing number of high-school students are earning community-college credits. More than 16,400 students were enrolled in Maricopa County community-college classes while in high school in the 2010-11 school year, up from more than 14,300 five years ago. Figures for the 211-12 school year were not available.