Report Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates: A Regional Perspective By Hans Johnson, Kevin Cook, Marisol Cuellar Mejia Jun 27, 2017 Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley will play a critical role in whether California can keep up with the economy’s growing need for college graduates. Colleges and universities in these regions will need to work together to boost graduation rates, while enrolling more freshmen and transferring more students.
blog post Highly Educated Workers See Strong Job Gains By Hans Johnson Apr 27, 2017 The recovery from the Great Recession highlights the importance of California’s higher education systems in providing meaningful economic opportunities for workers.
blog post Testimony: Accurately Assessing College Readiness By Olga Rodriguez Apr 19, 2017 A more equitable and efficient system for assessment and placement at the community colleges is a vital step in helping all students achieve their academic goals.
blog post More Students Completing College Prep Courses By Sara Adan Apr 5, 2017 As more school districts have made college prep courses mandatory for graduation, more students are passing them with a grade of C or higher.
Report Career Technical Education in Health: An Overview of Student Success at California’s Community Colleges By Shannon McConville, Sarah Bohn, Landon Gibson Dec 1, 2016 Health programs at California’s community colleges attract a large and diverse set of students and are linked to growing job opportunities in a generally well-paying industry for Californians with less than a bachelor’s degree. Many community college students who have earned career tech credentials in health care over the past decade have seen sizeable wage gains. Efforts to increase completion rates and close achievement gaps can expand access to health careers while helping the state meet its workforce needs. This research was supported with funding from the Sutton Family Fund.
press release Career Tech Credentials in Health at Community Colleges Yield Sizeable Gains Nov 30, 2016
Report Math Placement in California’s Public Schools By Niu Gao, Sara Adan Nov 16, 2016 Last year, the California Legislature passed a new law—the California Mathematics Placement Act—to address widespread concern over equity in the math placement process. The law is aimed at improving the measurement of student performance in order to move more students successfully through the high school curriculum. In this context, we surveyed California’s school districts during the 2015–16 school year to examine their placement policies right before the law took effect and to identify district needs for technical assistance while implementing the new law. We found that: Districts need help in determining how to proceed. Because the law leaves many details open to local interpretation, many districts are unsure about how to handle certain key elements. Teacher recommendations are a good example. Our survey indicates that the majority of districts have relied on recommendations as an important factor in determining placement. But the law now restricts their use. Improving the law’s clarity is critical going forward. Despite uncertainties, most districts are implementing the new law. Among our respondents, 86 percent reported having a systematic math placement policy. Sixty percent said they are somewhat or very familiar with the new law. Among these districts, 51 percent said they were already in compliance and 42 percent reported revising their policies for compliance purposes. Across districts, there is a strong need for valid, reliable, and objective performance measures. This need applies both to assessing student performance and to evaluating district policies. Districts with the largest gains in student course outcomes over a 10-year period provide some insight. These districts are more likely than others to emphasize test scores, math GPA, and overall GPA when assessing student placement. They are also more likely to use end-of-year math grades to evaluate district placement policies. Districts face a number of other challenges. Districts’ concerns range from handling parental expectations, to needing evidence-based performance measures, to creating better policy alignment within and across schools. In addition, equity issues and staffing shortages present ongoing challenges for many districts. We recommend several actions for helping districts comply with the law and improve their math placement process. These include establishing evidence-based measures, refining the approach to teacher recommendations, and identifying effective placement protocols. In the longer term, districts would benefit from using student data to improve equity issues and from increased staffing, especially in rural and high-need districts.
Report Determining College Readiness in California’s Community Colleges: A Survey of Assessment and Placement Policies By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez Nov 9, 2016 Assessment and placement policies govern where students begin their college journey. Yet community colleges vary greatly in how they identify college-ready students—potentially leading to inequitable access to transfer-level courses. This research was supported with funding from The Sutton Family Fund.
Report Preparing Students for Success in California’s Community Colleges By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez Nov 9, 2016 Community colleges identify 80 percent of incoming students as underprepared for college-level work. Fewer than half of these students advance to and succeed in a college course (44% in English and 27% in math). Concerns about poor outcomes have led to institutional reforms. This research was supported with funding from The Sutton Family Fund.