College eligibility is measured by the number and percentage of 12th grade graduates who complete all the courses required for entrance to the University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) with a grade of "C" or better. Course completion represents only a portion of the entrance requirements for UC or CSU; not all students complete the other requirements, including taking ACT or SAT tests and maintaining an adequate overall grade point average.

College attendance generally leads to better future employment chances and higher socioeconomic status. Increasingly, post-secondary education is important to ensure better life opportunities and income potential. Students who meet the criteria for higher education are better prepared to benefit from opportunities available to them. College eligibility rates are influenced by the availability of the courses necessary for UC/CSU eligibility, school counseling and college advising, and the presence of qualified teachers. Low-income students and students of color often have less access to these resources (1).

Although college completion is correlated with better career potential, many young people find personal and financial fulfillment through other means, including military service, vocational training, and work.

Source for this narrative:

1. Oakes, et al. (2006). "Removing the Roadblocks: Fair College Opportunities for All California Students." UCLA IDEA Institute. http://www.unitedwayla.org/getinformed/rr/research/education/Pages/Page1576.aspx 

Find policy implications, related research, and links to more information about college readiness below.

To graduate from high school eligible for college, young people need access to high quality education beginning in early childhood, access to rigorous college preparatory courses taught by qualified teachers, and counseling about preparing for and applying to college (1, 3, 4). School districts, counties, states, and the federal government can pursue policies that ensure access to these resources for all students, particularly those who face the greatest barriers to college readiness: low-income students, students of color, English learners, and students whose parents did not go to college (1, 3).

According to research and subject experts, policies that could influence college readiness include:

• Aligning standards, curricula, and assessments from preschool through college (1, 2)
• Ensuring access to college preparatory courses for all students; some school districts are aligning their graduation requirements with the courses required for UC and CSU admission (3)
• Responding to struggling students with comprehensive support programs that integrate academic and social and emotional support (3, 4)
• Requiring that all middle and high schools educate students and their families about college requirements and options for paying for college by ensuring an effective ratio of qualified counselors to students (3, 5)

For more policy ideas and research on this topic, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section, or visit http://toolbox.pathwaystocollege.net for more information on best practices.

Sources for this narrative:

1. National Governors’ Association. (2010). P-16 Alignment. http://www.nga.org/cms/home/federal-relations/nga-key-committee-issues/page-ecw-issues/col2-content/main-content-list/p-16-alignment.html
2. Jobs for the Future. (2010). College and Career Ready Graduation: Strengthening the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. http://www.jff.org/publications/education/college-and-career-ready-graduation-stre/1063
3. Oakes, et al. (2006). Removing the Roadblocks: Fair College Opportunities for All California Students. UC ACCORD/UCLA IDEA. http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/documents/removing-the-roadblocks-to-college-report
4. Pathways to College Network, Institute for Higher Education Policy. (undated). Social Support: An Essential Ingredient to Success. http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/pdf/support.pdf
5. Cunningham et al. (2007). From Aspirations to Action: The Role of Middle School Parents in Making the Dream of College a Reality. Institute for Higher Education Policy. http://www.ihep.org/Publications/publications-detail.cfm?id=94

In 2008, 33.9% of California’s public high school graduates had completed the courses required for University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) entrance, with a grade of "C" or better. This figure is similar to recent years. In only four counties, 50% or more of high school graduates completed these requirements, while in 14 counties, less than 20% of graduates were college-eligible. Asian American high school graduates were most likely to have taken the courses necessary to be eligible for college in California (59.2% in 2008), followed by Filipino graduates (44.8%). Latino/Hispanic and African American graduates were least likely to be college-eligible (22.5% and 23.3%, respectively).

• American Youth Policy Forum
• Child Trends: Educational Attainment
• College Readiness for All Toolbox, Pathways to College Network
• DataQuest, California Department of Education
• Ed-Data, Education Data Partnership
• EdSource
• Education Commission of the States
• Education Trust West
• Going to College, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• HigherEdInfo.org, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Information Center
• Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy
• Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System, National Center for Educational Statistics

• A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness, 10/2008, Child Trends, Lippman et al.
• Adolescents: Are Parents Relevant to Students' High School Achievement and Post-Secondary Attainment?, 09/2004, Harvard Family Research Project, Patrikakou
• America's High Schools, 2009, The Future of Children (19)1
• Closing the Gap: Meeting California’s Need for College Graduates, 04/2009, Public Policy Institute of California, Johnson & Sengupta
• Course-Taking Patterns and Preparation for Postsecondary Education in California’s Public University Systems Among Minority Youth, 01/2008, WestEd, Finkelstien & Fong
• Divided We Fail: Improving Completion and Closing Racial Gaps in California’s Community Colleges, 10/2010, Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, Moore & Shulock
• Great Expectations: Multilingual Poll of Latino, Asian, and African American Parents Reveals High Educational Aspirations for Their Children and Strong Support for Early Education, 08/23/2006, New America Media, Bendixen
• High School Course-Taking Patterns for English Language Learners: A Case Study From California, 04/2009, WestEd, Finkelstien, Huang & Fong
• Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master Plan, 04/2010, Public Policy Institute of California
• Involving Families in High School and College Expectation, 08/2006, Education Commission of the States, Dounay
• Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways: Preparing California’s Youth for College, Career, and Civic Responsibility, UCLA/IDEA, Mehan
• Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different?, 2006, ACT
• Removing the Roadblocks to College Report, 03/2006, UCLA/IDEA & UC/ACCORD, Rogers et al.
• State of Decline? Gaps in College Access and Achievement Call for Renewed Commitment to Educating Californians, 10/23/2006, Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy
• Transition to Adulthood, 2010, The Future of Children (20)1

• Santa Clara County Children’s Agenda: Indicators of Child Health and Well-Being (Data Book), 2012, Kids in Common
• The 17th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2011, Orange County Children's Partnership (OCCP), Center for Community Collaboration, California State University, Fullerton, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Children and Families Commission of Orange County
• Tulare County Children’s Report Card 2010, 2011, Children's Services Network
• What Factors Predict High School Graduation in the Los Angeles Unified School District?, 2008, California Dropout Research Project, Silver, D., et al.

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