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
California’s College Readiness Standards and Lessons from District Leaders
During the past decade, education leaders and policymakers have made significant investments to better align California’s K-12 and postsecondary education systems and to address persistent disparities in educational attainment by race and…
In this report we explore the patterns in mathematics course-taking among California public high school seniors. We describe what courses students are enrolled in and how course participation varies by key student characteristics, such as race/…
A Research Summary and Implications for Practice
Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on…
Perspectives from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
California voters ranked college affordability as the second most important education policy issue in the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier poll, a concern reflected in Governor Gavin Newsom’s first budget proposal and in a number of bills currently progressing…