Community colleges are the first point of access to public higher education for many language-minority students who attended CA high schools. These students face language-related challenges that present potential barriers to completing academic goals. Community colleges struggle to meet the needs of those who do not fit the linguistic profiles of monolingual English-speakers in developmental English courses nor of ESL programs. In this seminar, George Bunch presents his research on language testing and placement policies and practices while discussing implications for policy.

The Early Assessment Program is an academic preparation program developed by the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and CSU. The stated purpose of the program, now in its fifth year, is to bridge the gap between K-12 educational standards in English and mathematics and the requirements and expectations of postsecondary education at the California State University. In this seminar Michal Kurlaender and Jessica Howell discuss how participation in the Early Assessment Program affects college going behavior and the need for remediation in college.

The CAHSEE has been criticized as being unfair to English Learners, special education students and some racial groups, as well as being ineffective in raising student achievement. Some have called for eliminating passage of the CAHSEE as a graduation requirement for CA students. In this seminar, Julian Betts discusses whether the requirement and funding for intervention is helping or hurting students academically, with a focus on who has been failing the exam, how early we can identify students at risk of failing, and when school districts might intervene to help students at risk of failure.

The ADP has sought to strengthen alignment between standards and expectations in K-12 schools and post-secondary education and training. In the first year the ADP has worked toward agreement on a common standard of readiness for non-remedial college coursework across the three segments of California’s higher education system. In this seminar, members of the ADP team discuss progress to date and next steps in the effort to ensure that more California students are prepared for success in college and careers.

In this seminar, Sean Reardon and Michal Kurlaender will present student-level data from four large California school districts was used to examine the impact of the California High School Exit Examination exam on student achievement and graduation rates. In particular, they focus of the effects of failing vs. passing the CAHSEE in 10th grade on the subsequent achievement and graduation rate of students with relatively low math and ELA skills.

California’s community colleges serve nearly three-quarters of public postsecondary enrollments in the state and are critical to meet today’s needs for a highly educated workforce and citizenry. State public policies create the conditions under which the colleges operate to serve students’ needs and contribute to the economy. In this seminar, Nancy Shulock makes the case for supplementing ongoing efforts to increase student success with changes to policies in order to provide more favorable conditions under which the colleges can meet the needs of students and the state of California.