The State of Higher Education in California: Blacks
Author: Valliani, Nadia
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Higher Education,Educational Attainment,Enrollment,College Freshmen,College Transfer Students,Graduation,Community Colleges,State Universities,Barriers,Access to Education,African American Students

The &quot;State of Higher Education in California&quot; is a series of reports that provide comprehensive data on the current state of college access and completion for the state and what it means for the economy. This report on Blacks is the second in the 2015 State of Higher Education in California series. The report provides information on demographics, levels of educational attainment, and rates of college readiness, enrollment, and graduation for Blacks in California. These in-depth reports analyze California's public colleges and universities and recommend actions that policymakers and college leaders can take in order to improve college enrollment and graduation rates. This report on Blacks is the second in the 2015 State of Higher Education in California series, and finds finds that Black Californians have improved their educational outcomes over the last couple of decades. Black adults today are more likely to have a high school diploma and a college degree than in 1990. Black students are also more likely to graduate from high school and college today than they were ten years ago. However, compared to the major four racial/ethnic groups in California, Blacks still experience significant opportunity gaps. For example, 23 percent of working-age Black adults in California have a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 42 percent of White adults. Black adults are the most likely to have attended some college but left without earning a degree. Black youth overwhelmingly attend lower performing elementary through high schools characterized by lower than average test scores, inexperienced teachers, lower levels of resources and funding, and insufficient counselors. As a result, Black high school students are less likely than students from most other racial/ethnic groups to graduate from high school and to do so having completed the sequence of A-G coursework that makes them eligible to apply to California's public four-year universities. When they do arrive in college, Black students are most likely to be placed into pre-college level coursework, the least likely to graduate from college, and the most likely to enroll in for-profit colleges which have traditionally poor rates of student success and in some cases high costs and student debt levels. Closing gaps in access and success across racial/ethnic groups is critical for California. As a majority-minority state, the success of all racial/ethnic groups is essential for a strong economy and vibrant civil society. The Campaign for College Opportunity proposes the following recommendations for policymakers, college leaders, and students and families: (1) Create a statewide plan for higher education; (2) Ensure colleges successfully move students through pre-college level courses, quickly and with improved retention rates; (3) Provide clear transfer pathways to four-year degrees; (4) Identify and re-enroll adults with some college but no certificate or degree; (5) Expand college knowledge in middle and high school and invest in support services students need to succeed; (6) Fund colleges for both enrollment growth and successful outcomes; (7) Strengthen financial support options for low- to moderate-income college students; and (8) Allow California's public universities to use race/ethnicity as one of many factors in weighing an applicant's qualifications for admission. [Michele Siqueiros and Audrey Dow contributed to this report. Additional funding for this project was provided by the Sand Hill Foundation.]