TOPIC

College access & postsecondary success

College Access and postsecondary success

Preparation for college and career is critical for both individual and societal economic prosperity. Yet, educational attainment is not sufficient to meet economic demand and educational opportunities are not equally distributed. State policymakers and education leaders across the state are working to increase opportunity and improve student outcomes.

At the heart of these efforts is better alignment of California’s K–12 education system with higher education systems and the labor market to ensure successful transitions for young adults between high school and postsecondary pursuits.

In this topic area, PACE researchers investigate students’ educational trajectories and the state and local endeavors to decrease disparities in access to educational opportunities and improve student success in college and career.

Recent Topic Publications
PB11
In 2005-06 almost half of the pupils in California’s public schools were Latinos, but Latinos only received about 15 percent of the BA degrees awarded by public and private colleges in the state. Texas has a comparable Latino population, but does…
PB9
A new PACE policy brief summarizes the findings from a study investigating the impact of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) on California’s lowest performing students. Utilizing longitudinal data from four large urban school districts,…
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Understanding California's High School Dropouts
Six of California’s largest urban school districts—Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), San Diego Unified…
Getting Down to Facts: School Finance and Governance in California
School Finance and Governance in California
Getting Down to Facts is the largest independent investigation ever of how California governs and funds public education. It was commissioned at the request of a bipartisan group of California leaders, including the governor’s Advisory Committee on…