To better prepare students for college, most California districts have high school graduation requirements that are more rigorous than the state minimum. Many tie their standards to the “A–G” requirement, a series of courses that students must complete to be eligible for admission to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU). While tougher requirements push students to take more advanced courses and compel schools to offer them, they have raised concerns about graduation rates among student groups that are historically underrepresented in higher education. We find evidence that among low-income students, average graduation rates are similar in districts that require more courses and those requiring the state minimum—and that A–G completion rates are higher in districts with tougher standards.
District graduation requirements range from the state minimum to the A–G and beyond. The state minimum standard includes courses in core subjects—English, math, science, and social studies—as well as one course in foreign languages, arts, or career education. It also includes physical education and a growing list of other courses, including a personal finance course. The A–G requirements include an additional year of English and math, two years in a foreign language, one year in art, and one year of an approved elective.
About 15% of all districts require only the state minimum. These districts are largely in rural parts of the state and serve just 5% of students statewide; they may face administrative capacity or staffing obstacles to offering the A–G sequence. Almost half of all districts require one or two courses above the state minimum, most often in English and math. About one in five students are in districts that require the full A–G sequence or more; these districts are concentrated in the state’s large cities, where advocates have pushed for access to college-preparatory coursework.
Roughly 82% of students in districts that require the full A–G sequence are low income (compared to the statewide share of 64%), and their shares of Latino and Black students are higher than the statewide average. On average, 11th-graders in these districts perform slightly below the state average on the standardized tests for English Language Arts and math, but they outperform students in districts that require the state minimum.
As the figure below shows, graduation rates for low-income students in districts that require A–G courses are on par with rates in districts that do not, and students in these districts have higher A–G completion rates than their peers in non-A–G districts. However, many district A–G requirements allow students to earn credit toward graduation with grades of D or better, whereas Cs or better are required for admission to UC and CSU, and a substantial share of graduates do not reach that standard.
Though average graduation outcomes are comparable in districts with tougher requirements, creating new barriers to earning a diploma has been a persistent dilemma for some. For example, after having implemented an A–G requirement for the class of 2016, San Diego Unified School District recently created an alternative pathway for students who are at risk of failing to graduate.
Our findings suggest that when schools raise expectations and expand access to advanced coursework, more students—including those who have historically been underserved—do rise to meet them. But the San Diego experience suggests that there is more to college readiness than course-taking: without sufficient academic support and counseling, higher standards risk deepening the very inequities they are meant to address. As more districts revisit their graduation policies, it will be important to understand that true college readiness depends not just on the number and type of courses required, but on how well schools support students in completing them.
