Most California Students Won't Earn Degrees: Study

CALIFORNIA -- Only 30 percent of California ninth graders will earn bachelor's degrees, according to a study released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California. The research-based group found that the majority of students will fall off the path to college during the last two years of high school or the first two years of college.

Moreover, most high school graduates don't complete the college preparatory courses required for admission to the California State University or University of California systems, according to the institute.

“Widespread progression problems in high schools are keeping even academically prepared students from advancing to the next level of college prep coursework,” said Niu Gao, coauthor of the report. “Similar problems exist in community colleges, where well-prepared students do not take the transfer-level courses that would move them toward college completion.”

The group came across its findings by analyzing when students leave the path to college, which students leave, and the major impediments to success. It is based on a large longitudinal sample of high school students, as well as statewide data.

The findings include:

• Only 45 percent of the graduating class of 2016 completed the courses required to be considered for admission to CSU or UC
• Among students in the sample who successfully passed the first college prep math course, 34 percent did not take the next one—even though 13 percent earned an A and 22 percent a B in the class
• Students historically underrepresented in higher education are more likely to drop off the college pathway at every stage
• CSU lacks adequate capacity to enroll qualified students. In the past four years, CSU has turned away more than 69,000 qualified California high school graduates who completed the course requirements

The report also found that California lags behind other states because it is one of the few that require just two years of math for high school graduation—and this affects the courses students take.

Researchers recommend that California develop a statewide longitudinal database to track individual student progress from kindergarten through college graduation to evaluate reforms, improve systems, and assess outcomes more effectively.

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