This brief examines the experiences of California high school seniors from the graduating class of 2023, offering insights into their preparation, plans, and concerns for college prior to enrollment. Drawing on results from a large-scale survey of seniors, the findings reveal important variation in students’ secondary school experiences and their plans for college, particularly by race/ethnicity and gender identity. As students’ experiences in high school influence concerns about their college futures.

This infographic, from PACE and Wheelhouse, examines participation in dual enrollment among 9th to 12th graders. The data show that about 10 percent of all California public high school students enrolled in community college courses in 2021–22, but these rates vary from zero to 97 percent depending on locality. Analysis demonstrates that dual enrollment participation is unequally distributed across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups as well as geography. The evidence demonstrates the potential of improving early access to dual enrollment in 9th grade for closing these equity gaps.

This extended infographic provides an updated look at Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway completion among California public high school graduates and at how completion patterns vary by student race/ethnicity, gender, and CTE industry sector.

This chapter in an edited book focuses on the work of two improvement network hubs in California as they tried to support participating districts and schools to improve the proportion of students “on-track” for post-secondary success. California has a particular stake in figuring out how to support districts in consistently using continuous improvement (CI) to achieve measurable gains in student outcomes because state policy (e.g., Local Control Funding Formula, California’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan) prescribes CI as the approach to improvement in its accountability system.

This resource guide addresses a key problem that many district and school leaders in California face: how to increase student enrollment and success in A–G courses to reduce equity gaps in college eligibility. Developed from a qualitative research study that examined the policies and practices of nine school districts in California with A–G completion rates surpassing the overall statewide rate, the guide presents strategies, tools, and resources to address challenges with A–G course alignment, counseling, and scheduling.

Completing the A–G course sequence is the standard pathway to college for CA high school graduates; however, findings indicate substantial variation in A–G enrollment and completion rates across student subgroups and schools. This brief describes the distribution in access to and success in A–G courses as well as strategies local leaders could consider to increase these rates among the students they serve. Drawing on case studies of nine public school districts with exemplary A–G completion rates, we highlight best practices to broaden A–G access for students and ease barriers to completion.

Access to and success in advanced math courses are not equal among high school students, with only about half of California seniors enrolling in these courses. To address this, six partnerships between university faculty and high school math specialists developed Advanced Innovative Math (AIM) courses. This report highlights the benefits of these partnerships and their common features of successful intersegmental partnerships, supplemented by case studies of each partnership.

This infographic presents updated research on high school students' access to rigorous and inclusive math curricula that prepare them for college and career success. The data shows troubling disparities in access to and success in advanced math courses, which highlights the need to diversify high school math pathways. The descriptions provided can help inform efforts to increase access and equity in math education.

The 2021-22 academic year in California was challenging for public education due to eight issues that threaten student learning, schools, and public education itself, including gun violence, declining enrollment, and long-term funding inadequacy. These issues also have a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and highlight long-standing systemic inequities. In July 2022, PACE and USC Rossier School of Education conducted a poll of California voters to determine their views and priorities on public education.

Assembly Bill 705 in California allows ELs to enroll in college-level English composition, and colleges must design curricula and placement practices that maximize English completion. ELs who graduated from US high schools and enrolled directly in college-level English had higher throughput rates than those directed to ESL Pathway. Recommendations include improving EL placement, integrating English support in academic instruction, and better tracking EL academic pathways in administrative data sets.

The 2021 PACE/USC Rossier poll examines Californians’ views on higher education during COVID-19, highlighting equity and affordability. Californians recognize college affordability as crucial and support remote learning options, community college funding, loan forgiveness, and equitable admissions. However, they worry that increased access may compromise education quality and believe that universities should only consider academic and extracurricular qualifications, not race or income. Political affiliation and race influence perceptions.

Research shows that dual enrollment benefits high school students in both systems. However, a lack of integrated data systems in California has limited understanding of participation rates. UC Davis researchers matched datasets to reveal 18.2% of California high school students took a college course at a community college during 2018-19. Participation has grown, but disparities persist, particularly for Latinx, Black, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. These equity concerns are significant given the benefits of dual enrollment.

This brief describes the types of college promises that exist in the state of California. In doing so, we summarize existing research on this topic. Furthermore, we provide a framework to study the California Promise Program in community colleges in California. We use publicly available data to highlight key aspects of our proposed framework: What are we promising, to whom, and where? We end our brief by providing key recommendations to ensure that the promise extends to the most vulnerable groups of students to help in closing equity gaps in college degree and completion in California.

Over 725,000 California K-12 students received special education services in 2018-19, but the system is not always equipped to serve them. Early screening, identification, and intervention, as well as better transitions, educator support, and mental/physical health services, need improvement. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework in schools could address SWDs' needs, but it requires additional resources and policy support to improve educator capacity and collaboration between agencies while systematizing data on SWDs.

Students with disabilities should be included in programs that prepare them for life after high school. This can be achieved through a K-14 work-based learning model, which involves strengthening expectations, leveraging opportunities, and integrating supports. Early implementation of these actions is encouraged, along with specific policy recommendations for California.

Preparing youth with disabilities for adulthood can be challenging, requiring additional supports and coordinated planning. Effective practices, such as family involvement, inclusion in general education, and interagency collaboration, can facilitate successful transitions to employment, postsecondary education, and community living. School districts must work with families, employers, and community agencies to implement these practices.

In the run-up to 2020 elections, where do California voters stand on key education policy issues? This report examines findings and trends from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Key findings include rising pessimism about California education and elected officials, continued concern about gun violence in schools and college affordability, and negative opinions about higher education. However, there is substantial support for increased spending, especially on teacher salaries.

California has sought to increase high school students’ access to college courses through dual enrollment. This brief matches high school and community college datasets, revealing that 12.6% of state high school students take college courses, higher than the national average. However, Latinx and African American students, as well as socioeconomically disadvantaged students, were underrepresented in community college course-taking. The vast majority of California public high schools lack formal dual enrollment programs, limiting access to an important onramp to the early college experience.

This report summarizes efforts to align California's K-12 and postsecondary education systems to address disparities in educational attainment. Based on district leaders' interviews and quantitative data, the report finds that rigorous academic preparation is crucial to college success, and that participation and performance on college admissions exams are key indicators of college readiness. However, substantial inequality exists across all measures of readiness, and district leaders emphasize the importance of engaging families and the community in supporting postsecondary success.

In this report we explore the patterns in mathematics course-taking among California public high school seniors. We describe what courses students are enrolled in and how course participation varies by key student characteristics, such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and performance level on the state’s 11th grade assessments. We also explore course-taking patterns for students eligible for California’s public four-year colleges—California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), and for applicants and admitted students at the CSU and UC.

Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on four factors key to educational attainment—aspirations and beliefs, academic preparation, knowledge and information, and fortitude and resilience—and the implications of each.

College affordability was ranked as the second most important education policy issue in the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Governor Newsom’s budget proposal and several bills in the state legislature reflect this concern. The diverse geography and socioeconomic status in CA demand local context consideration for designing effective reforms. Variation in concern over college costs is discussed by county and income and racial/ethnic groups. Proper evaluation and implementation of college promise programs and equity initiatives are suggested as fruitful avenues for addressing college affordability.

This brief discusses the challenges of fragmented and misaligned public education and proposes intersegmental collaborations as a solution. Effective collaboration between high school and college, between higher education systems, and between education and economic development sectors can increase student success. Bridging research, policy, and practice is crucial for the sustainability of these collaborations and to improve outcomes for students. The brief provides lessons for effective collaboration and highlights opportunities for bridging research, policy, and practice.

This report investigates the predictive power of the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC), high school GPA (HSGPA), and SAT scores on first-year college outcomes at California State University and University of California campuses. The assessments' relationships with early college outcomes differ by key student subgroups, and HSGPA is found to be a stronger predictor than SBAC or SAT for first-year college GPA and second-year persistence at CSU.

With a new governor, state superintendent and legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California’s leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. There are also a host of new and looming issues in K-12 and higher education. As California’s leaders confront these and other issues, where do California voters, including parents, stand on education and education policy? The newest edition of the USC Rossier/PACE Poll shares voter perspectives on a wide range of education issues.