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Reforming Math Pathways at California’s Community Colleges

By Hans Johnson, Olga Rodriguez, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Bonnie Brooks

The goal of developmental education (also known as remedial or basic skills education) is to help students acquire the skills they need to be successful in college courses, but its track record is poor. In fact, it is one of the largest impediments to student success in California’s community colleges. Many students do need additional work to be ready for college, particularly in math. But every year hundreds of thousands of students are deemed underprepared for college and placed into developmental courses from which relatively few emerge. Throughout the state, community colleges are revising assessment and placement procedures to ensure that students who are ready for college are not placed in developmental education. And, given the high failure rates in traditional developmental courses, colleges are also experimenting with alternative curricular approaches.

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K–12 Test Scores Vary Widely across Student Groups

By Paul Warren

The 2017 test results for California’s public K–12 school students underscore the need to improve outcomes for economically disadvantaged students, English Learners, and students with disabilities.

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Housing Costs and Higher Education

By Hans Johnson

Higher education is not often considered part of a housing agenda, but it has played an important role in shielding many Californians from the state’s dramatic increases in housing costs.

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Reforming Remedial Education in Community College

By Olga Rodriguez, Mina Dadgar

Reforming developmental, or remedial, education is essential to improving students’ success in community colleges. The good news is that there is major support for reform.

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DACA and California’s Future

By Hans Johnson

The DACA program has been particularly significant in California—home to 70,000 “Dreamers” and other undocumented immigrants who attend public colleges.

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College Graduates Have Higher Net Worth

By Hans Johnson

In California, median household net worth is almost four times higher for adults with at least a bachelor’s degree ($356,000) than for high school graduates ($95,000).

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Regional Action to Boost College Success

By Linda Strean

Higher education experts from Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley describe their efforts to meet California’s need for college-educated workers.

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A Regional Approach to Closing the Workforce Skills Gap

If current trends persist, California will face a severe shortage of college graduates by 2030. What can colleges and universities do to help close this workforce skills gap? PPIC researcher Kevin Cook will outline findings from a new report, and a panel of experts will discuss the challenges facing California’s higher education systems and the promise of regional approaches in key parts of the state: Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and the San Joaquin Valley.

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