California Assembly Bill (AB) 705 (2017) calls for community colleges to transform their approach to student placement in transfer-level English and math. This reform seeks to dismantle college reliance on standardized placement tests that have historically channeled many students--particularly those from underinvested communities--into remedial…

Assembly Bill 1705 (AB 1705) seeks to strengthen students' completion of the first STEM Calculus course for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs across the California Community Colleges. The law sets new standards for students' placement and first math enrollment to ensure STEM students begin in transfer-level coursework that…

This edition of "WICHE Insights" discusses the most recent results of WICHE's annual survey, "Tuition and Fees in the West," as well as the recent trends in state appropriations and state financial aid. Overall, the most recent data highlights a positive trend in state higher education finance as most states reported minimal…

High-quality teacher preparation is a critical building block of an effective and stable teacher workforce. In California, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) currently oversees teacher preparation programs (TPPs) at more than 100 institutions, and these programs graduate more than 10,000 teacher candidates per year. Over the past…

For the past several years, the California State University (CSU) has been investigating a proposal to add one year of high school quantitative reasoning coursework to the current CSU first-year admissions requirements, often referred to as A-G courses. Qualifying quantitative reasoning courses would include courses in mathematics (area C),…

This document includes five technical appendices that accompany the full report, "The Impact of Expanding Public Preschool on Child Poverty in California." The five appendixes include: (1) Publicly Provided Child Care Programs Included in the Report Scenarios; (2) Summary Description of Child Care Scenarios Developed in the Report; (3)…

In 2015, College Futures Foundation brought together seven community foundations, centering the goal of transitioning traditional, merit-based scholarship programs to a more strategic, need-based approach. College Futures envisioned this transition as a vehicle to improve college completion rates for low-income, first generation students, seeking…

California is on the cusp of implementing universal preschool--a step that could help level the playing eld for young children. Over the next few years, all four-year-olds will become eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which has been part of the state's early learning programs since 2012. In the report, "Setting the Stage for…

In 2019, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation engaged SRI Education to "refresh" a 2007 study, published as "An Unfinished Canvas" (Woodworth et al., 2007). In 2022, SRI released "Creativity Challenge" (Woodworth et al., 2022). Both studies were commissioned to assess the status of arts education in California,…

California's community colleges began implementing Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705) in fall 2019, making major assessment and placement reforms that moved students away from remedial prerequisites for English and math and into transfer-level courses. In the full report, the authors examine the progress colleges and students have made in shifting toward…

Getting more young people engaged in STEM is essential in part because jobs in STEM continue to grow at rates double those of non-STEM professions. Providing greater opportunities for STEM learning isn't just about preparing the future workforce. As the world continues to rely more and more on technology, everyone will require a greater level of…

Millions of college students, across the nation and in California, benefit from financial aid that reduces the amount students and families must pay for tuition and fees, supplies, and living expenses like food, housing, and transportation while enrolled. In California, concerns about college costs and affordability have in recent years expanded…

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office is pleased to present the 2021 Report on Course Section Offerings and Plans for Future Instruction for California Community Colleges. Pursuant to Senate Bill 129 (Skinner, 2021), California community college districts are required to report on the total number of course sections offered, broken…

These technical appendixes accompany the study, "Who Is Losing Ground with Distance Learning in California?" The study explores key issues California families experienced around distance learning in spring 2020. Using data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, a weekly survey conducted in 2020, the authors document how the COVID-19…

These are the appendices for the report, "Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment." Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education…