Research and Links
College Eligibility (see data for this topic)
- Websites with Related Information
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- Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed)
- American Youth Policy Forum
- Campaign for College Opportunity
- EdSource
- Education Commission of the States
- Education Insights Center. California State University Sacramento.
- Education Reform Now
- Education Trust–West
- Jobs for the Future
- MDRC: Postsecondary Education
- Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis
- Young Invincibles
- Key Reports and Research
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- 2024 California Children's Report Card. Children Now.
- Breaking the Boundaries Between High School and College: How to Scale Success for Low-Income Students. (2019). Jobs for the Future. Vargas, J.
- Building a Fast Track to College. Education Reform Now & Alliance for Excellent Education. Dannenberg, M., & Hyslop, A.
- College Readiness in the Era of Common Core. (2018). Getting Down to Facts II. Kurlaender, M., et al.
- Connecting Opportunity Youth to Postsecondary Credentials and Careers: Federal Investments and Scaling Best Practices. (2020). Jobs for the Future.
- Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA, and WIOA. (2019). College and Career Readiness and Success Center at American Institutes for Research. Cushing, E., et al.
- Guided Pathways: Redesigning California’s Community Colleges. (2020). Campaign for College Opportunity.
- Higher Education in California. (2019). Public Policy Institute of California. Murphy, P., et al.
- In Their Voices: Undocumented in California Public Colleges and Universities. (2019). Campaign for College Opportunity. Dow, A., et al.
- New Eligibility Rules for the University of California? The Effects of New Science Requirements. (2019). Public Policy Institute of California. Gao, N., et al.
- Paving the Path to College Aid: Expanding Access to the Cal Grant Program. (2018). Education Trust–West. Wheatfall-Lum, N.
- State of Higher Education for Black Californians. (2019). Campaign for College Opportunity. Bates, A. K., & Siqueiros, M.
- The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2019. (2019). ACT.
- Think Equitably, Act Locally: Ensuring Equity and Collective Advocacy in California Community Colleges. (2020). Education Trust–West.
- County/Regional Reports
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- 2023 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being. Children Now.
- A Portrait of Los Angeles County: Los Angeles County Human Development Report 2017-2018. (2018). Measure of America. Lewis, K., & Burd-Sharps, S.
- A Portrait of Sonoma County: 2021 Update. (2022). Measure of America. Lewis, K., et al.
- Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County. Orange County Children's Partnership.
- College Prep for All: Will San Diego Students Meet Challenging New Graduation Requirements? (2016). Public Policy Institute of California. Betts, J. R., et al.
- How Education and Industry Partner on Work-Based Learning: Lessons Learned from an Evaluation of Oakland Health Pathways. (2019). SRI Education. Warner, M., et al.
- Important Facts About Kern’s Children. Kern County Network for Children.
- Orange County Community Indicators Report. Orange County Business Council, et al.
- Santa Clara County Children's Data Book. Santa Clara County Office of Education, et al.
- Santa Monica Youth Wellbeing Report Card. Santa Monica Cradle to Career.
- Spotlight on the Inland Empire. (2021). Measure of America. Lewis, K.
- More Data Sources For College Eligibility
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- California School Dashboard. California Dept. of Education.
- DataQuest. California Dept. of Education.
- Education Data Partnership (Ed-Data) California Dept. of Education, et al.
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) National Center for Educational Statistics.
- KIDS COUNT Data Center. Annie E. Casey Foundation.
- Local Control Funding Formula Reports. California Dept. of Education.
- National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) Information Center
- Upward Mobility Data Dashboard. Urban Institute.
Learn More About This Topic
- Why This Topic Is Important
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Higher educational attainment generally leads to more employment opportunities, higher earning potential, and better health (1). However, college preparatory resources—such as quality curricula, teaching, advising, and test preparation—are not available equally to all students, and certain groups are consistently underrepresented in higher education, including Latinos, African Americans, and low-income students (1). While progress has been made, substantial inequities remain in these areas.
The benefits of college readiness, access, and completion extend beyond individuals to society overall. For example, California is projected to have a shortage of skilled workers in the near future, falling at least 1 million bachelor's degrees short of demand by 2030 (1). Improving college access and completion also could benefit society by increasing tax revenue while reducing economic inequality, unemployment, poverty, incarceration, and demand for safety net programs (1).Although college completion is linked to better career potential, many young people find personal and financial fulfillment through other means, including military service, career education (occupation-specific training), and work.
For more information, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section.
Source for this narrative:
1. Murphy, P., et al. (2019). Higher education in California. Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved from: https://www.ppic.org/publication/higher-education-in-california - Policy Implications
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The benefits of higher education are well documented, ranging from better economic and health outcomes for individuals to increased tax revenue and reduced poverty rates for society as a whole (1). Higher education is especially critical in California, as the state is projected to have a serious shortage of skilled workers by 2030 (1).
Student success in high school and college starts early. When young people receive high-quality early childhood learning opportunities and continued educational support throughout childhood, they are more likely to have long-term academic success (2). Unfortunately, not all children have access to high-quality child care, Pre-K–12 education, college preparatory courses, and other resources that prepare young people for college (1, 3). Low-income, Latino, and African American students have been historically underrepresented in higher education in California, and disparities persist (1). Other groups often face barriers to college, too, including students in foster care, those with disabilities, homeless students, English learners, undocumented students (who can receive financial aid in California), and students whose parents did not go to college (1, 2, 3, 4).
Recognizing these challenges, California has enacted numerous reforms and initiatives aimed at reducing educational inequities and improving college preparation, access, and completion (1). While progress has been made, the work is far from done (1). Policymakers (at federal, state, and local levels), educators, school systems, and community organizations all can play a role in addressing disparities and ensuring young people have equitable opportunities for college success.
Policy and practice options that could improve college readiness, opportunity, and completion include:- Ensuring that all children have access to high-quality, affordable early childhood education, which can lay the foundation for later achievement and reduce disparities that begin early (2)
- Creating long-term funding solutions for California's early childhood, Pre-K–12, and higher education systems, including reinvestments in public colleges and universities; also, ensuring equitable distribution of quality curricula, teaching, and other resources (1, 2)
- Continuing to support schools in creating safe, positive environments and developing comprehensive, evidence-based systems to address students' academic, physical, emotional, behavioral, and other needs (2)
- Increasing family outreach starting in middle school, promoting awareness about college preparation, enrollment, financial aid options, and resources to support families (1)
- Strengthening coordination between K–12 and higher education to continue improving student transitions from high school to college and from two-year to four-year institutions; as part of this, ensuring that K–12 students have equitable access to rigorous college preparatory courses and resources (advising, test preparation, etc.), dual enrollment programs, and other opportunities to help with these transitions (1)
- Reducing fragmentation in higher education leadership by creating a coordinating oversight body to set long-term goals and strategies, including plans to accommodate more students and improve transparency and accountability for institutions (1, 2)
- Supporting efforts to help cover the full cost of college, including housing, food, and child care for students with children; these costs, plus rising tuition and fees, can put college out of reach for low-income students (1, 2)
- Continuing to support the development of an integrated, longitudinal student data system for California, which can provide a wealth of information about the education pipeline and answer key questions about barriers to college enrollment, among other issues (1)
For more information, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section or Policy Implications under the following topics: Reading Proficiency, Math Proficiency, and High School Graduation.
Sources for this narrative:
1. Murphy, P., et al. (2019). Higher education in California. Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved from: https://www.ppic.org/publication/higher-education-in-california
2. Children Now. (2020). 2020 California children's report card: A survey of kids' well-being and roadmap for the future. Retrieved from: https://www.childrennow.org/portfolio-posts/20-report-card
3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Monitoring educational equity. National Academies Press. Retrieved from: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25389/monitoring-educational-equity
4. Dow, A., et al. (2019). In their voices: Undocumented in California public colleges and universities. Campaign for College Opportunity. Retrieved from: https://collegecampaign.org/portfolio/in-their-voices - How Children Are Faring
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More than half (51%) of all high school diploma earners from California's 2019 graduating class completed the coursework required for University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) admission with a grade of C or better. The share of graduates completing college preparatory coursework varies widely across regions with data. Between 2017 and 2019—the period for which comparable data are available—county-level figures ranged from consistently below 20% to consistently above 60%. In some school districts, percentages remained higher than 90% during this period.
Inequities persist in college eligibility across racial/ethnic groups. In 2019, 75% of Asian and 55% of white graduates statewide completed the course requirements for UC or CSU entrance, compared with fewer than 45% of their Hispanic/Latino (44%), African American/black (40%), and American Indian/Alaska Native (31%) peers.
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