The PACE Annual Conference in January 2024 will bring together California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to address critical questions about the state's public education system and explore transformative actions for improvement at all levels, from early childhood through higher education.

Academic preparation for postsecondary schooling is largely a function of rigorous, inclusive, and relevant high school curricula, including mathematics. Yet not all high school students have equal access to the courses that best prepare them for college and career. In this webinar, we will present new research on 12th grade math and course-taking in California which shows that nearly half of high school graduates do not meet the math requirements of state universities or are ill-prepared for college math.

PACE’s 2023 conference marks many important milestones: our first in-person annual conference since the start of the pandemic, the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, and the 40-year anniversary of PACE’s founding.

In this seminar, we will present a comprehensive overview of California’s college readiness metrics and new statewide data on college persistence and completion. In addition, we describe the efforts of several public school districts to improve postsecondary access and success for all students, and to close persistent gaps by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Dual enrollment enables students to take college courses while they are still in high school, which makes it more likely that they will graduate from high school and that they will also enroll and succeed in college. Join us for a webinar with several experts including Michal Kurlaender, chair of education policy in the UC Davis School of Education, PACE Faculty Director, and co-author of the report on dual enrollment, to learn more about the potential of this practice in California and what needs to be done to make this opportunity more available to all students in California.

College access is more important than ever, and the time is right for a fresh look at the research on college admissions and the implications for education equity. PACE and UC Berkeley bring together an amazing group of policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. Speakers include leaders from the State Board of Education, each of California’s institutions of higher education (UC, CSU, and community colleges), K-12 school districts, the College Board, and advocacy organizations, along with experts in college admissions and access from universities across California and nationwide.

JFF will briefly present key findings from a recently released study on the second year of CCPT implementation (2015-2016) that focuses largely on three issues: changing mindsets about career and technical education, improving communication among stakeholders, and building sustainable regional networks. The seminar will highlight CCPT implementation successes and challenges through the lens of regional career pathway development, particularly the connections between school districts and community colleges and ideas for strengthening them.

Most of the students who set out to earn degrees in California Community Colleges never do. The reasons behind these low rates of persistence and completion have long been a focus of policy and popular concern, and a variety of strategies have been adopted to tackle the problem. In this seminar, Rachel Baker will present findings that show how students, and schools, reacted to SB 1440, which created the Associates Degree for Transfer.

Michal Kurlaender and Jacob Jackson present research following up on their statewide evaluation of California’s Early Assessment Program (EAP), an academic preparation program developed jointly by the California Department of Education, the California State Board of Education, and the California State University and implemented in 2004. The goals of the EAP are to bridge the gap between K-12 educational standards in English and mathematics and the requirements and expectations of postsecondary education. In this seminar, Kurlaender and Jackson present new findings on EAP effects at California

Gardner Center staff and two institutional partners at the University of Chicago and Brown University, developed and studied the implementation of a CRIS in five urban school districts across the country. The seminar will present the recently-released CRIS Resource Series, including a menu of research-based indicators and six essential elements of CRIS implementation. The seminar includes a discussion of how districts, schools, and state agencies can use a college readiness indicator system to fulfill college readiness mandates and advance equitable access to deeper learning opportunities.

In this seminar Daniel Solorzano and Amanda Datnow present findings from a study focusing on young adults in poverty, many of whom are enrolled in community colleges. Their study is guided by the premise that it is important to take an asset-based approach to understanding youth in poverty and their communities. They argue to truly expand opportunities for success educational institutions must find a way to build on current strengths in families and communities. The project seeks to understand what knowledge and tools are needed to maximize postsecondary opportunities for low-income youth.

California participates in President Obama’s goal of increasing participation in postsecondary education the state needs to add roughly 100,000 students a year for the next ten years. Public institutions do not have the ability to meet these needs under current fiscal and structural constraints. What might be the role of private and for-profit colleges and universities in meeting the needs of the state? In this seminar, William G. Tierney addresses this question and more.