For years, the vast majority of California’s community college students had to take remedial courses that slowed down or halted their academic progress. In 2019, Assembly Bill (AB) 705 removed many of these barriers, making it much easier for students to access and complete gateway transfer-level courses in English and math—a key early milestone for transferring to a four-year institution and earning a bachelor’s degree. We examine how student outcomes have changed in the years following this landmark legislation.

Expanded access has driven progress in course completion

After AB 705, access to transfer-level English and math courses soared. From fall 2018 to fall 2022, the share of first-time English students starting directly in college composition increased from 68 percent to 99 percent, and direct access to transfer-level math rose from 40 percent to 96 percent.

Course completion rates have also improved dramatically. In fall 2022, 59 percent of first-time English students and 51 percent of first-time math students successfully completed the transfer-level course in one term (up from 47% and 24%, respectively, in fall 2018). Year-to-year gains in completion rates have largely followed expansions in access. Current near-universal levels of access to both college composition and transfer-level math suggest that progress in course completion may stall in the coming years without additional efforts—both inside and outside of the classroom—to advance student success.

Moreover, racial equity gaps remain as large as ever. In college composition, the one-term course completion rate for white students is 22 points higher than for Black students and 16 points higher than for Latino students. In transfer-level math, the white-Black gap is 22 points, and the white-Latino gap is 17 points.

For students who need additional academic support, some colleges offer corequisites, which enroll students directly in transfer-level courses with a concurrent support course. Research evidence shows that students perform better in corequisites than in prerequisite remedial courses. But overall completion rates in corequisites at California’s community colleges have been somewhat low. In fall 2022, 53 percent of corequisite students completed college composition in one term, and 46 percent did so for transfer-level math. However, some colleges do show high performance in corequisites, especially among Black and Latino students, suggesting that these courses can be successful if implemented well.

Transfer rates held steady through the pandemic

Among first-time math students in fall 2019, who were the first cohort to be affected by AB 705, three-year outcomes, including transfer rates, degree attainment, and unit accumulation, are similar to those of earlier students. The three-year transfer rate for the fall 2019 cohort was 20.4 percent (vs. 18.7% for fall 2018 cohort), the degree attainment rate was 32.2 percent (vs. 34.8%), and unit accumulation was a median of 31 units (vs. 29 units).

Considering that the pandemic disrupted enrollment and persistence at the community colleges, minimal changes in these three-year outcomes are a positive sign, suggesting that AB 705 may have buffered the pandemic’s impact on transfer. At the same time, these findings may also suggest that substantially broadening access to gateway math and English alone will not guarantee dramatic gains in longer-term academic success.

Recommendations

As California’s community colleges approach universal access to transfer-level courses, using evidence-based strategies to improve completion rates and racial equity must be the next priority. Increases in access have thus far been the main driver of progress in successful completion of transfer-level courses. To further advance student success, colleges will need to determine how to better address students’ academic and non-academic needs. Following the legislature’s recent approval of a one-time funding stream for corequisite models, professional development, and student services to support the comprehensive implementation of AB 705, the community college system should monitor how funding is allocated and the subsequent impact on student outcomes.

Successful college initiatives can help inform additional campus-level reform. In our interviews with colleges that have increased completion rates and reduced equity gaps, key elements of reform included a systemwide growth mindset, effective student supports and resources, and a commitment to data-driven decision-making. Many colleges also cited high-touch, holistic, student-centered programs that they believe have benefited students of color at their campus. Expanding communication and collaboration across programs and colleges to better understand how these programs are addressing the needs of specific groups of students may be necessary to eliminate statewide equity gaps in gateway course completion that have thus far limited the potential impact of AB 705.

More research is needed to understand the longer-term effects of AB 705 and identify further areas of reform for the transfer pathway. As pandemic disruptions recede and more years of data become available, we will be able examine the outcomes of students for whom the pandemic had a lesser impact and the effects of AB 705 will become clearer. Moreover, once the state’s cradle-to-career data system is up and running, information on community college students’ high school records will allow us to investigate more thoroughly the effect of reforms on academic momentum, degree completion, and transfer.

Sources

About the Authors

Marisol Cuellar Mejia is a research fellow at the PPIC Higher Education Center. Her recent projects have focused on developmental education, transfers, online learning in community colleges, and the economic returns to college education. Her research interests include labor markets, housing, and demographic trends. Before joining PPIC, she worked at Colombia’s National Association of Financial Institutions as an economic analyst, concentrating on issues related to the manufacturing sector and small business. She has also conducted agricultural and commodity market research for the Colombian National Federation of Coffee Growers and the National Federation of Palm Oil Growers of Colombia. She holds an MS in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis.

Cesar Alesi Perez is a research associate at the PPIC Higher Education Center. His work has focused on understanding how educational opportunities and outcomes differ across California, examining the relationship between higher education and economic opportunity, and analyzing the impact of placement and curricular reforms at California community colleges. Before joining PPIC, he was a research assistant at the San Diego Housing Commission, concentrating on evaluating economic security and mobility among rental assistance recipients. He also worked at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and as a hands-on educator at multiple levels of education. He holds an MPP from the School of Global Policy and Strategy at University of California, San Diego and a BA in economics from University of California, Los Angeles.

Sidronio Jacobo is a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education and Organizational Change (HEOC) program at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. He is a Research Analyst for the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Advancement at East Los Angeles College. Previously, he was a Graduate Student Researcher for the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute and the UCLA Center for Community Schooling. He was also a Teaching Fellow for the UCLA Center for Community Engagement and the UCLA School of Education. Sidronio holds a BA from UC Berkeley in Social Welfare and Latin American Studies and an MA in HEOC from UCLA.

Fernando Garcia is a doctoral student in the Higher Education and Organizational Change program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Fernando serves as a Graduate Researcher at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies in collaboration with varied community colleges to better understand the current functionality of institutional resources designed to support minoritized students through a Research Practice Partnership approach. Fernando earned an A.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Santa Barbara City College, a B.A. in Psychology and Communication from the University of California Santa Barbara, an M.A in Education from San Diego State University, and an M.A. in Higher Education and Organizational Change from UCLA.

Olga Rodriguez is director of the PPIC Higher Education Center and a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she holds the Thomas and Marilyn Sutton Chair in Higher Education Policy. As center director, she works with a team of researchers to identify programs and policies to help make the state’s higher education system more successful, equitable, and sustainable. Her own research focuses on college access and success among underserved students. Her recent work has examined statewide reforms to developmental education, English as a second language, dual enrollment, and assessment and placement systems in California’s community colleges. Before joining PPIC, she was a postdoctoral research associate at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a BA in economics/mathematics and Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MA and PhD in economics and education from Columbia University.

Vicki Hsieh is a senior editor at the Public Policy Institute of California. She works with the research staff to publish clear and compelling reports, briefings, and other documents for a broad audience—including state legislators, policy experts, and the media. Before joining PPIC, she worked at Hanover Research as a project manager and editor in K-12 and higher education research. She holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of California, Irvine, and BAs in comparative literature and psychology from Cornell University.