Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish procedures within the State Department of Education to, among other things, coordinate the identification and development of effective programs and practices with, among others, appropriate offices in the department, schools, school districts, and the Legislature. Existing law requires the department to annually disseminate to each school district, county office of education, resource agency or consortium, and other public educational entity, as appropriate, information regarding effective educational projects and programs, as specified.

This bill would require the department to annually conduct a study regarding participation, performance, and outcomes of college acceleration readiness programs, as specified. The bill would require the department to complete the study on or before by April 1 of each year 2028 and 2029, and to submit the completed study to the appropriate budget and policy committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance on or before by April 30 of each year. those years.

This bill would make these provisions inoperative on April 30, 2029, and would repeal it as of January 1, 2030.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish procedures within the State Department of Education to, among other things, coordinate the identification and development of effective programs and practices with, among others, appropriate offices in the department, schools, school districts, and the Legislature. Existing law requires the department to annually disseminate to each school district, county office of education, resource agency or consortium, and other public educational entity, as appropriate, information regarding effective educational projects and programs, as specified.

This bill would require the department to annually conduct a study regarding participation, performance, and outcomes of college acceleration programs, as specified. The bill would require the department to complete the study on or before April 1 of each year and to submit the study to the appropriate budget and policy committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance on or before April 30 of each year.

This bill would make these provisions inoperative on April 30, 2029, and would repeal it as of January 1, 2030.

Date of Hearing: May 1, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2588

Author:(Chen) – As Amended Ver:April 1, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to study annually conduct a study of college readiness programs for two years, beginning April 1, 2028.

Specifically, this bill directs CDE to study participation, performance, and outcomes of college readiness programs including, international baccalaureate, advanced placement, dual and concurrent enrollment, early and middle college high schools, and career and technical education. The bill directs CDE to coordinate data collection efforts with the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and the California Cradle-to-Career Data System.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Ongoing General Fund costs to CDE of about $335,000 for two positions to coordinate data collection analyze and compile a report on the data.

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, “AB 2588 is an important measure designed to give us the most complete information in an area where it is lacking. Good policy is crafted with good data, this bill helps provide just that.”
2. Background. High schools operate various college readiness programs. Some offer dual enrollment for high school students at local colleges, while others contract with companies, such as the College Board in the case of Advanced Placement, to use curricula and tests which some colleges will accept as credit once a student enrolls in post-secondary education.

This bill directs the CDE to provide a study of these programs every two years.

Analysis Prepared by: Natasha Collins / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 9, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Mike Fong, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2588 (

Author:Chen) – As Amended Ver:April 1, 2024

SUBJECT: College readiness programs: study

SUMMARY: Authorizes the California Department of Education (CDE) to conduct a study on the participation, performance, and outcomes of college readiness programs offered by K-12 districts and for the study to be published and transmitted to the appropriate entities by April 30, 2028, and the subsequent year. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes the CDE to conduct a study on the participation, performance, and outcomes of college readiness programs for, at a minimum, the previous school year. The study will include, at a minimum the following college readiness programs: international baccalaureate, advanced placement, dual and concurrent enrollment, early and middle college high schools, and career technical education programs offered by K-12 districts. The study will include the following data points:
   1. The number of pupils participating in each type of college readiness program by subgroup and course subject;
   2. The number of postsecondary education credits earned in each type of college readiness program in a high school setting; and,
   3. The average number of courses taken and successfully completed by each pupil in each college readiness program.
2. Requires the study created by (1) of this analysis to include the following data points, to the extent the data is already available:
   1. The number of pupils participating in each type of college readiness program that earned a baccalaureate degree within four years of graduating high school or an associate degree within two years of graduating high school; and,
   2. The percentage of successfully completed courses completed as part of a college readiness program for which pupils were not awarded college credit at the postsecondary education institution disaggregated by each type of college acceleration program.
3. Permits CDE, in order to reduce duplication, to coordinate data collection efforts with the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), the University of California (UC), and the California Cradle to Career Data System (C2C).
4. Requires the study authorized by (1) of this analysis to be completed by April 1, 2028, and again on April 1, 2029, and requires the study to be published and distributed to the appropriate budget and policy committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance by April 30 in those years.
5. Declares the section establishing the study to be inoperative on April 30, 2029 and repeals the section on January 1, 2030.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the UC as a public trust to be administered by the Regents and grants the Regents full powers of organization and governance subject only to legislative control as necessary to ensure the security of funds, compliance with terms of its endowments, and the statutory requirements around competitive bidding and contracts, sales of property, and the purchase of materials, goods, and services (Article IX, Section (9) (a) of the California Constitution).
2. Establishes the Donahoe Higher Education Act and assigns the mission of the UC, the CSU, and the CCC (Education Code (EDC) Section 66010 et. seq.).
3. Establishes the CCC under the administration of the Board of Governors of the CCC, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The CCC shall be comprised of community college districts (EDC Section 70900).
4. Establishes the CSU system, comprised of 23 campuses, and bestows upon the CSU Trustees, through the BOT, the power, duties, and functions with respect to the management, administration, and control of the CSU system (EDC Sections 66606 and 89000 et. seq.).
5. Stipulates no provision of the Donahue Higher Education Act shall apply to the UC unless the UC Regents adopts the provision (EDC Section 67400).
6. Requires the governing boards of the CCC, CSU, and UC along with their respective academic senates to develop, maintain, and disseminate an intersegmental common core curriculum in general education for the purpose of transfer. The common core is known as the International General Education Transfer curriculum (IGETC). Any student who completes the IGETC course pattern will be able to transfer to the CSU or the UC and have their courses count towards a bachelor’s degree. Upon the development of the IGETC will be distributed to each public school in the state that instructs grades 7 to 12 for the purpose of informing students of the academic requirements for preparation for higher education (EDC 66720 and 66721).
7. Establishes the C2C for the purpose of connecting individuals and organizations with data from various state agencies and higher education institutions. The data system be a source of actionable data on student progress through education, workforce training, employment, health, and social services. The data system will allow the public to interact with state-level disaggregated deidentified data through operational tools and analytical tools and will be overseen by a managing entity and a governing board as described (EDC 10860-10874).
8. Sets forth the criteria required of dually enrolled high school student in order for a CCC to count the high school student for purposes of apportionment or funding from the state. Requires the Chancellor’s Office of the CCC to prepare and submit a report to the Department of Finance and the Legislature each year on March 1, the amount of high school students claimed by each community college district for purpose of apportionment, as special part-time and special full-time. The report will include the following those enrolled in noncredit, nondegree-applicable, degree applicable (excluding physical education), and degree applicable (including physical education). The report will also include the number of students who received a passing grade in summer session courses (EDC Section 76002).
9. Authorizes, a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership agreement, with a local education agency or charter school district and outlines specific requirements for participation in the CCAP partnership agreements by the CCC and the local school or charter school district. The purpose of the partnership is to offer or expand dual enrollment opportunities for pupil who may not be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education. Permits special part-time students participating in the CCAP partnership to receive priority enrollment, enroll in up to 15 course, and receive fee waivers for specified fees. The goal of the partnership is to offer courses which develop seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or the preparation for transfer, improve high school graduation rates, and/or help pupils achieve college and career readiness. Requires Chancellor of the CCC to annually collect specified data from the CCC and school districts participating in a CCAP partnership and submit the data in a report to the Legislature, Department of Finance, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction by May 1 of each year. The data shall include:
   • 1. The total number of high school pupils by school site enrolled in each CCAP partnership, aggregated by gender and ethnicity; and,
     2. The total number of CCC courses taken by CCAP partnership participants disaggregated by category and type and by school site; and,
     3. The total number and percentage of courses successfully completed by CCAP partnership participants disaggregated by course category, type, and by school site; and,
     4. The total number of full-time equivalent students generated by the CCAP partnership community college district participants; and,
     5. The total number of full-time equivalent students served online by the CCAP partnership college district participants (EDC Section 76004).

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: This bill was double referred to the Assembly Education Committee, which passed the bill on March 20, 2024 with a vote count of 7 - 0. Please see the committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill as it pertains to the jurisdiction of the Assembly Education Committee.

Need for the measure. As portrayed by the author, “AB 2588 is an important measure designed to give us the most complete information in an area where it is lacking. Good policy is crafted with good data, this bill helps provide just that. This measure establishes an annual report on the number of students participating in readiness programs, disaggregated by group. These results allow the state to track the progress of state investments in dual enrollment programs in California and allows stakeholders and policymakers alike to make fully informed decisions.”

In March 2021, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, published a report on the importance of data entitled, “Developing a Data-Informed Campus Culture: Opportunities and Guidance for Institutional Data Use,” which contained recommendations for how higher education institutions could effectively use high-quality data to ensure student success. One of the recommendations was to develop partnerships to streamline data collection and to invest in data collection. As poignantly illustrated by the Assembly Education Committee’s analysis from March 18, 2024, a conglomerate of data points exist on student outcomes for college readiness, but a researcher would have to piece-meal the data to understand student outcomes. AB 2588 (Chen) seeks to rectify the lack of congruency by streamline the data collection process on the outcomes of students who participate in college readiness programs into a single report published by the CDE in partnership with various entities.

College readiness programs for K-12 students. AB 2588 (Chen) defines “college readiness programs” to include international baccalaureate programs (IB), advance placement (AP), dual and concurrent enrollment, early and middle college high schools, and career technical education.

1. IB programs – The CDE defines IB as a two-year comprehensive and rigorous pre-university curriculum culminating in the conferral of an IB diploma. Successful graduates are granted advance placement credit at the finest universities and colleges in the United States. The student undertakes a curriculum framework that ends in a course exam for students. Participate in an IB course or program may add extra points to a student’s grade point average, depending upon the local K-12 district policies.
2. AP program – Originating over 40 years, AP was originally established as an alternative pathway to graduating early for accelerated high school students. The AP Program has forty different courses. Students elect to take a course that ideally prepares them for the exam offered by the College Board in the spring of each academic year. Participation in an AP course may add extra points to a student’s grade point average, depending upon the local K-12 district polices. Students are provided test scores which may provide them college credit depending upon the higher education institutions’ admission policy.
3. Dual and concurrent enrollment – Dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment is defined by the National Center for Education Statistics as a course that offers both high school and college credit. Historically, dual enrollment targeted higher-achieving students; however, within the last decade, policymakers and educators have utilized dual enrollment as a strategy to help a broader range of students procure college credit and ease the transition to college. . In California there are two types of dual enrollment programs authorized by the Education Code: traditional dual enrollment pathways and college and career access pathways (CCAP). A traditional dual enrollment pathways is established by EDC Section 48800 – 48802 and authorizes a high school student to attend a CCC as a special part-time or full-time student on the recommendation of the high school principal. A student is permitted to take up to 11 units per term. How students divide their time and the structure of the programs vary by school district and the CCC. For example, a CCC might enter a formal partnership with a school or a student may take a college-level course independently.

CCAP partnerships were established by AB 288 (Holden), Chapter 618, Statute of 2015. CCAP partnerships are meant to improve collaboration between K-12 and community college districts in the provision of dual enrollment courses with the goal of increasing college access and equity. K-12 districts partner with their local community college to do the following:

1) Provide students with a seamless educational pathway from high school to community college for either career technical education or degree transfer;

2) Improve high school graduation rates; and,

3) Help high school students achieve college and career readiness.

EDC Section 76004 provides an articulated plan by which high schools and community colleges agree to offer community college courses to high school students on either a high school or a college campus. The courses are offered during the K-12 school day and are provided free of charge to students. Students can participate in up to 15 units per semester.

1. Early and middle college high schools – A middle college high school (MCHS), created by EDC section 11300-11301, are standalone high schools located on a CCC campus. These alternative high schools are designed for at-risk youth who “are performing below their academic potential” to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree. MCHS provide effective support services, small class sizes, and the opportunity for a student to concurrently take college classes at minor cost to students.

An early college high schools (ECHS), created by EDC Section 11302, are partnerships between a secondary high school and either a CCC, a CSU, or a UC. The partnership enables high school students to earn a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit in four years. ECHS are either standalone high schools (like the middle college high schools) or are a “school within a school” or an autonomous program offered on a secondary high school campus. Students who are enrolled in ECHS, are on track to earn their high school diploma and either an associate’s degree or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum transfer certificate.

1. Career technical education – CDE defines career technical education as a sequence of courses taken by high school students over the course of several years that combines core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students a pathway to postsecondary education and careers. CDE has the following industry sectors as part of the career technical education framework: agriculture and natural resources; arts, media, and entertainment; building and construction trades; business and finance; education, child development, and family services; energy environment, and utilities; engineering and architecture; fashion and interior design; health science and medical technology; hospitality, tourism, and recreation; information and communications technologies; manufacturing and product development; marketing sales and services; public services; and transportation.

In August 2023, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-11-23 which called for the creation of a new Master Plan for Career Education. The purpose of the plan is to increase access to living wage jobs by building and reinforcing education and training pathways for students from K-12 to degree or certificate attainment. In addition to the edict for a new master plan, Governor Newsom established the Council for Career Education to empower all Californians with the “freedom to succeed.” The Master Plan is scheduled to be finalized by October 1, 2024.

College credit for coursework completed in high school at the CCC, CSU, and UC. With the exception of career technical education (which does not provide additional grade point average points nor college credit), the appeal of college readiness courses is the dual credit. If a student is successful in an IB, AP, or a dual enrollment course, the student has the “potential” to earn college credit and high school credit as each require more than simply passing the course to qualify for college credit. To qualify for college credit at the CCC, CSU, and UC the student must accomplish the below, disaggregated by institution and college readiness program:

According to CDE Data Quest, in 2018-2019 (the latest data update), there were 877,341 students who took AP or IB courses throughout the state (includes students who took more than one AP or IB course). While CDE tracks statewide enrollment, student outcomes and college credit attainment are not tracked through DataQuest nor by any of the higher education institutions, who handle college credit conferral on a case by case basis.

On November 6, 2023 the Assembly Higher Education Committee hosted an oversight hearing on the “Landscape of Dual Enrollment in California.” During one of the panels, it was conveyed by each expert witness the need for “better data.” Specifically, during the UC Davis Wheelhouse and California Education Lab presentation, additional data points are needed to accurately measure participation and assess equity gaps at both the statewide and local level. Additionally, during the Public Policy Institute of California presentation, a request was made for data to assess the role of dual enrollment in college outcomes. AB 2588 (Chen) would fulfill the data gaps currently at the state level by aggregating various data points into one collective report for review by both the public and state policymakers.

Cradle-to-Career Data System (C2C). Despite being home of technology innovation, California was one of the last states to implement a statewide data system. Beginning in 2019 the Governor and Legislature partnered with stakeholders, data experts, and researchers to methodically and strategically craft what would become the blueprint for the C2C. After several years of input culminating in multiple reports, Governor Newsom in collaboration with the Legislature, passed AB 132 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 144, Statues of 2021, and established the C2C. The C2C is a state entity managed by an executive director who answers to a governing board comprised of appointed members and data providers.

The C2C was built due to the decentralized nature of data despite the overlap of services and the need for continuity of data in early education, K-12 schools, colleges, social services, and employment. Agencies who interacted students at various points were unable to share data due to the inability for agency data systems to exchange and recognize the new data from the sharing entity. The goal of the C2C is multipronged as it is designed to:

1. Streamline college and financial aid applications;
2. Help students and families explore, plan, and apply for college;
3. Help educators interact with statewide and local data to provide targeted interventions; and,
4. Provide linked data from multiple sources to help shape policy by enabling decision makers to make data-informed decision.

In May 2022, the C2C achieved an early milestone on its path to an operational database with the signing of the data sharing agreements with the data providers which include the CDE, CCC, CSU, and UC. The data points required by the data sharing agreement include AP scores, college course completion while in high school, and completed career and technical education course. The data points do not account for whether the student was awarded college credit or the impact the course had on the student’s postsecondary education outcomes. Because the ultimate goal of the C2C database is to link data across multiple agencies, it would be theoretically possible to see if a student successfully completed a college readiness course and earned a bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree. However, whether the student was awarded college credit for the college readiness course may not be available by either C2C or the data providers (CCC, CSU, and UC).

Committee Staff note that the C2C acts as a repository for data and if the source (data providers) do not collect the data component, the C2C is not endowed with the statutory authority to compel nor force them to provide the data element.

C2C is still in the developmental phase. The first data files from data providers were provided in the Fall of 2023 and it is anticipated the first database for public perusal will be available sometime in 2024.

Arguments in support. As described by the CollegeBoard, “AB 2588 would provide the public with much needed information on the number of students participating in all college acceleration programs, not just AP. This will allow stakeholders to gather essential information on the value of these programs – such as the number of students earning college credit and students’ ability to earn postsecondary degrees within four years. Similarly, the public reporting will also highlight where progress needs to be made ensuring that students receive postsecondary credit for their success in these programs.”

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

CollegeBoard

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Ellen Cesaretti-Monroy / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960

Date of Hearing: March 20, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Al Muratsuchi, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2588 (

Author:Chen) – As Introduced Ver:February 14, 2024

[Note: This bill was double referred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee and will be heard by that Committee as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]

SUBJECT: College acceleration programs: study

SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to conduct a study regarding participation, performance, and outcomes of college acceleration programs including, but not limited to, international baccalaureate (IB), advanced placement (AP), dual and concurrent enrollment, early and middle college high schools, and career and technical education (CTE). Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the CDE to conduct a study regarding participation, performance, and outcomes of college acceleration programs including, but not limited to, IB, AP, dual and concurrent enrollment, early and middle college high schools, and CTE. Requires the study to include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   1. The number of pupils participating in each type of college acceleration program disaggregated by subgroup and by course subject;
   2. The number of postsecondary education credits earned in each type of college acceleration program in a high school setting;
   3. The average number of accelerated courses taken by each pupil in each college acceleration program;
   4. The number of pupils participating in each type of college acceleration program that earn a baccalaureate degree within four years of high school graduation or an associate degree within two years of high school graduation; and
   5. The percentage of successfully completed college acceleration courses for which pupils were not awarded credit at their postsecondary institution for each type of college acceleration program.
2. Requires the CDE to complete the study on or before April 1 of each year. Requires the CDE to submit the study to the appropriate budget and policy committees of the Legislature and to the Department of Finance (DOF) by April 30 of each year.
3. States that the study requirement becomes inoperative on April 30, 2029, and, be repealed as of January 1, 2030.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) template, adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE), and the LCAP adopted by a school district, county office of education (COE), or charter school, to include as a measure of pupil achievement the percentage of pupils who have passed an AP examination with a score of 3 or higher. (Education Code (EC) 52060, 52066)
2. Requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to annually update the information on AP available on the CDE’s website to include current information on the various means available to school districts to offer or access AP courses, including online courses. Requires the SPI to annually communicate with high schools that offer AP courses in fewer than five subjects, and inform them of the various options for making AP courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who may benefit from them.
3. Requires the SPI to annually update information on the IB Diploma Program available on the CDE’s website. Requires the SPI to also provide support to high schools that offer IB courses to facilitate communication with the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges (CCC), the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU), and the Academic Senate of the University of California (UC) about the rigor of those courses and to ensure that college credit is given to pupils who participate so that they benefit from successful efforts in IB programs. (EC 52922)
4. Authorizes a student to undertake courses at a CCC if the governing board of a school district, upon recommendation of the principal of the student’s high school and with parental consent, determines a student would benefit from advanced or vocational coursework. The student may attend the CCC during any session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and take one or more courses of instruction offered at the CCC. Provides methods for parents to petition for students to attend community college courses and methods for appeals in case of a denial. Includes criteria for allocating attendance and funding for high school students who attend courses at the community college.
5. Authorizes the governing board of a CCC district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district, COE or the governing body of a charter school for the purpose of offering or expanding dual enrollment opportunities for pupils who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education, with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education (CTE) or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. (EC 76004)
6. Requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) to report to the DOF and Legislature annually on the amount of full-time equivalent students (FTES) claimed by each CCC district for high school pupils enrolled in non-credit, non-degree applicable, and degree applicable courses; and provides that, for purposes of receiving state apportionments, CCC districts may only include high school students within the CCC district’s report on FTES if the students are enrolled in courses that are open to the general public, as specified. Additionally, requires the governing board of a CCC district to assign a low enrollment priority to special part-time or full-time students in order to ensure that these students do not displace regularly admitted community college students. (EC 76001 and 76002)
7. Establishes Middle College High Schools (MCHS). Requires each MCHS to be structured as a broad-based, comprehensive instructional program focusing on college preparatory and school-to-work curricula, career education, work experience, community service, and support and motivational activities. Authorizes the specific design of a MCHS to vary depending on the circumstances of the community college or school district. Requires the basic elements of the MCHS to include, but not be limited to, the following:
   1. A curriculum that focuses on college and career preparation;
   2. A reduced adult-student ratio;
   3. Flexible scheduling to allow for work internships, community service experience; and
   4. Opportunities for experiential internships, work apprenticeships, and community service. (EC 11300)
8. States that Early College High Schools (ECHS) are small, autonomous schools that blend high school and college into a coherent educational program. In ECHS, pupils begin taking college courses as soon as they demonstrate readiness and the college credit earned may be applied toward completing an associate or bachelor’s degree, transferring to a four-year university, or obtaining a skills certificate. (EC 11302)
9. Federal law, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins) provides federal support for CTE programs and focuses on improving the academic and technical achievement of CTE students, strengthening the connections between secondary and postsecondary education and improving accountability.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Need for the bill. According to the author, “AB 2588 is an important measure designed to give us the most complete information in an area where it is lacking. Good policy is crafted with good data, this bill helps provide just that. This measure establishes an annual report on the number of students participating in acceleration programs, disaggregated by group. These results allow the state to track the progress of state investments in dual enrollment programs in California and allows stakeholders to make fully informed decisions.”

California College-Going Rate. According to the CDE, The College-Going Rate (CGR) is defined as the percentage of California public high school students who completed high school in a given year and subsequently enrolled in any public or private postsecondary institution (in-state or out-of-state) in the United States within 12 or 16 months of completing high school. The CDE has developed CGR reports using student-level high school completion data obtained from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and student-level postsecondary enrollment data obtained from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The high school completion data was submitted to CALPADS by local education agencies (LEAs) and charter schools. The postsecondary enrollment data was obtained through student-level data matches with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), which receives 99% of all postsecondary enrollment information from public and private colleges and universities in the United States. The CGR does not include information related to college readiness programs.

Figure 1: 2020-21 College-Going Rate for California High School Students by Postsecondary Institution Type

Source: CDE

Advanced Placement. The AP program is overseen by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization that, according to their website, “connects students to college success and opportunity.”  According to a 2017 article, Research on the Academic Benefits of the Advanced Placement Program: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, the AP program provides a framework in which high school teachers can teach introductory college-level courses to high school students. These students then take one of 34 standardized tests at the end of the year, and students who score well on their course’s AP test can receive college credit from their university in which they later enroll.

The AP program currently offers 35 exams on the topics of Arts (3), English (2), History and Social Sciences (9), Math and Computer Science (6), Sciences (7), and World Languages and Cultures (8). According to the College Board, the final score for each AP Exam is reported on a 5-point scale that offers a recommendation about how qualified exam takers are to receive college credit and placement, however, each college makes its own decisions about what scores it will grant credit or placement for. The AP program conducts studies in all AP subjects to correlate the performance of AP students with that of college students in comparable college courses. These studies inform the “cut points” that determine how AP students’ composite scores are translated into an AP score of 1–5, with a score of 1 being low, and 5 being high. The mean score for the 2022 AP Exams was 2.92. The 2022-23 fee for most exams is $97. More than 60% of all exams taken earned a score of 3 or higher. Participation in an AP course may add extra points to a student’s grade point average, in accordance with locally developed policies.

The College Board has conducted a body of research related to the AP program and student outcomes, however, until 2004 there was far less independent peer-reviewed research. According to the 2017 article, Research on the Academic Benefits of the Advanced Placement Program: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, the first non–College Board study that examined the academic impact of AP program participation was Geiser and Santelices’s (2004) study of the relationship between students’ high school records and their performance at college was prepared as a technical report for the UC System. The authors found that neither AP course participation nor AP exam scores had any predictive power for students’ college grade point average (GPA) or for college persistence after controlling for demographic variables, SAT scores, high school GPA, and other variables, which lead to a significant increase in the study of the AP Program. According to a 2011 College Board study, Advanced Placement Exam-Taking and Performance: Relationships with First-Year Subject Area College Grades, students' first-year college subject area grade point averages, when controlled for gender, racial or ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, and prior academic ability, increased in relationship to the students AP Exam score. According to a 2015 article, The Impact of Participation in the Advanced Placement Program on Students' College Admissions Test Scores, “Even when scholars recognize the benefits of AP courses, it is sometimes due to characteristics of the classes, and not the AP program itself. Because these students and teacher characteristics are often shown to be linked to positive academic outcomes, it is possible that any benefits of the AP program may be merely due to more prepared students and more experienced teachers—not the program itself.”

International Baccalaureate. The IB is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland that serves students in multiple countries, with more than 1,700 schools in the United States.  Through its three programs (Primary Years Program, Middle Years Program, and pre-university Diploma Program (DP)), aims to develop students who contribute to a more peaceful world through promoting intercultural understanding and respect. The curriculum is made up of the DP core (theory of knowledge; extended essay; and creativity, activity, and service), and six subject groups (studies in language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and the arts) for students 16-19 years of age. The IB program provides a curriculum framework in which teachers can teach from, and an end of course exam for students. The 2022-23 fee for most exams is $76. Participation in an IB course or program may add extra points to a student’s grade point average, in accordance with locally developed policies.

Concerns related to racial/ethnic access and participation equity. According to a 2014 article, Minority Students in High School Advanced Placement Courses: Opportunity and Equity Denied, with the exception of Asian and Pacific Islanders, minority students are severely underrepresented in AP programs. Further, the authors found a positive relationship between parents' profession and income and students' enrollment in such programs.  According to a 2015 study, Unequal Access to Rigorous High School Curricula: An Exploration of the Opportunity to Benefit from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), although rates of participation in IB have steadily increased across the United States to serve low-income and Hispanic students over the last two decades, the characteristics of student participating in IB programs are much less diverse. “IB programs are experiencing less success enrolling Black, Hispanic, and low-income students into the program. These findings raise questions about the extent to which the expansion of IBDP has the potential to improve academic preparation for college among groups of students that average lower levels of preparation.”

Dual Enrollment. According to the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences Transition to College, What Works Clearinghouse Report of February 2017, dual enrollment programs allow high school pupils to take college courses and earn college credits while still attending high school. Historically, dual enrollment targeted higher-achieving students through Advanced Placement exams or attending community college to take advanced courses after the student had exhausted courses offered at their high school campus. However, within the last decade, policymakers and educators have utilized dual enrollment as a strategy to help more students earn college credit and ease the transition to college.

Such programs also referred to as concurrent enrollment, dual credit, or early college programs, are designed to increase college access and degree attainment, especially for students typically underrepresented in higher education. According to the report, dual enrollment programs support college credit accumulation and degree attainment via at least three mechanisms:

1. Allowing high school students to experience college-level courses helps them prepare for the social and academic requirements of college while having the additional supports available to them as high school pupils (this could reduce the need for developmental coursework);
2. Students who accumulate college credits early and consistently are more likely to attain a college degree; and
3. Many dual enrollment programs offer discounted or free tuition, which reduces the overall cost of college and may increase the number of low socioeconomic status students who can attend and complete college.

In August 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics published findings from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. The data collected represented a cohort national study of the course taking behavior of high school students from 2009 to 2013. The study found that 89% of high schools in the nation offer dual enrollment programs, but only 11% of students participated in dual enrollment programs. Recent research from the UC Davis Wheelhouse in collaboration with the California Education Lab and Policy Analysis for California Education, found California has not only exceeded the national average of dual enrolment participation, but has increased dual enrollment participation from 11.3% in 2015-2016 to 18.2% in 2018-19.

According to a 2021 policy brief from The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Dual Enrollment in California, more than 112,000 California high school students graduating in the 2019–20 school year participated in dual enrollment—an increase of 56% from 2015–16. The growth is attributed in part to the authorization of CCAPs in 2016 and higher Latino student participation. After high school, students who participated in dual enrollment enroll at two- and four-year colleges at higher rates compared to all high school graduates.

Figure 2: Participation in Dual Enrollment at Community Colleges has Been Growing

Source: PPIC

In California, high school students or their parents can petition their school board for permission to attend college courses on a college campus for dual credit via traditional dual enrollment or a CCAP partnership agreement. Figure 3 highlights the major difference between these two types of dual enrollment.

Figure 3: Two Major Types of Dual Enrollment in California

Source: Legislative Analyst’s Office

College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnerships. In an effort to expand the availability of dual enrollment programs to more students, AB 288 (Holden), Chapter 618, Statutes of 2015, created another category of special admit options, the CCAP. In order to establish a CCAP partnership, the governing board of a CCC district and the governing board of a school district (or governing body of a charter school) enter into a formal agreement. The intent of this new pathway is to serve lower achieving students in an effort to reduce remediation, increase degree completion, decrease time to earn a degree, and stimulate interest in higher education among high school students who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education. The program was structured to authorize a model more like the Long Beach Promise, which offers dual enrollment as a pathway, rather than a series of disconnected individual courses, and to provide greater flexibility in the delivery of courses at the high school campus.

The CCAP partnership authorization provides two incentives to form partnerships:

1. Colleges may receive apportionment for providing courses on a high school campus specifically for high school students and is otherwise closed to the public.
2. Students may take up to 15 units per semester. In non-CCAP dual enrollment, the maximum remains 11 units per semester.

In exchange for greater flexibility, CCAP partners must meet a variety of requirements relative to instructors, job displacement, preserving access for adult students, and allowances and apportionments. While CCC districts may operate a dual enrollment partnership through an early college high school or middle college high school, they are prohibited from operating as a CCAP partnership unless they comply with the established provisions. Currently, there are 83 CCAP partnerships throughout the state.

CCAP Legislative Report. In 2021, the CCCCO released the legislative report required by AB 30 (Holden), Chapter 510, Statutes of 2019. Dual enrollment is growing overall in terms of student participation; however, the number of community colleges participating in CCAP remains limited. The CCCCO estimates that 37.5% of students participating in dual enrollment as special admits were in CCAP partnerships.

Figure 4: CCAP Dual Enrollment

Source: CCCCO College and Career Access Pathways Legislative Report

The report includes several recommendations, including eliminating the sunset date for CCAP partnerships, as this bill proposes. The CCCCO believes that eliminating the sunset date will allow CCAP partnerships to continue and mature, as well as remove any worry that new partnerships will have to start from scratch in a few years.

Other dual enrollment programs. There are two additional dual enrollment programs available to high school students including, a MCHS, and an ECHS.

A MCHS is a public high school located on a community college campus and represents a highly effective collaborative effort between local school districts and community colleges to provide an alternative learning environment to select at-promise high school students who are performing below their academic potential. Students enroll in a MCHS for 11^th and 12^th grades and graduate with a high school diploma and up to 44 units worth of college credits. Currently, there are 14 MCHS operating throughout the state.

Similar to a MCHS, an ECHS allows students to earn college credit while enrolled in high school; however, an ECHS is a partnership between a charter or non-charter public high school and a local community college, the CSU, or the University of California (UC) which enables students to earn a high school diploma and two years of college credit in four years or less. Students enrolled in an ECHS are limited to enrolling in up to 11 college course units per semester. According to the CDE, there are 20 ECHS located throughout the state.

Outcomes for students participating in dual enrollment programs. According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences review of analyses of dual enrollment programs, What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report: Dual Enrollment Programs, dual enrollment programs have positive and significant effects on students’ college degree attainment, college access and enrollment, credit accumulation, completing high school, and general academic achievement in high school, with a medium to large extent of evidence.

A 2013 Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis research article, The Impact of Dual Enrollment on College Degree Attainment: Do Low-SES Students Benefit?, used a nationally representative sample of students who began postsecondary education in 2003, and found that students who took dual enrollment courses were 10% more likely to complete a Bachelor’s degree than their peers who did not participate in dual enrollment. The benefits were even greater (12%) for students whose parents never attended college.

According to a 2021 Public Policy Institute report, Dual Enrollment in California: Promoting Equitable Student Access and Success, there are racial disparities in access to dual enrollment classes in California. Although there is an increasing number of students of all races participating in dual enrollment, the demographics of dual enrollment are not proportional to overall high school enrollments. Latino students account for 55% of high school enrollment in California but only 45% of students in dual enrollment are Latino. Black students are also underrepresented, while white and Asian students are overrepresented. Student academic outcomes are also disparate. Black and Latino students have a grade point average of 2.9, while white and Asian students have grade point averages of 3.2 and 3.4, respectively. On average, Black and Latino students also earn fewer units than their white and Asian peers.

The Budget Act of 2023 provided funding to support dual enrollment. The Budget Act of 2023 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022) included two proposals to support dual enrollment. The Golden State Pathways Program is a new competitive grant program intended to improve college and career readiness. Grantees will be required, as it relates to dual enrollment, to provide high school students a program that includes the opportunity to earn at least 12 college credits; provide articulated pathways from high school to postsecondary education and training that are aligned with regional workforce needs, and collaborate with other entities—such as institutions of higher education and employers—to increase the availability of college and career pathways that address regional workforce needs. Of the $500 million allocated for the program, at least $425 million is to be used for implementation grants to support grantees to collaborate with their program partners, up to $50 million is for regional consortium development and planning grants (for grantees to collaboratively plan with their program partners), and up to $25 million can be used for CDE to contract with up to ten LEAs to provide technical assistance to grantees.

The 2023 Budget Act also included $200 million for the Dual Enrollment Funding Opportunity Program, a competitive grant program aimed at increasing programs that provide high school students with access to college level courses. Of this amount, $100 million is available for LEAs to apply for one-time grants of up to $250,000 for planning and starting up middle and early college high schools on K-12 school sites. The remaining $100 million is available for one-time grants of up to $100,000 to establish CCAP agreements that allow students to take some community college courses at their high school. Priority will be given to LEAs with at least half of their student population consisting of English learner students, as well as those that have higher than the state average rates of high school dropouts, suspensions or expulsions, child homelessness, foster youth, or justice-involved youth.

Defining Career Technical Education. CTE prepares students for the world of work by introducing them to workplace competencies, and makes academic content accessible to students by providing it in a hands-on context. Along the way, students develop career-relevant, real-world 21^st Century skills.

CTE is a program of study that involves a multiyear sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to postsecondary education and careers. CTE programs in California are organized into 15 industry sectors, covering 58 pathways that identify the knowledge and skills students need. Partnerships are usually developed between high schools, businesses, and postsecondary schools, providing pathways to employment and associate, Bachelor’s, and advanced degrees.

CTE courses and pathways may be offered in comprehensive high schools with CTE programs, as well as through regional CTE programs or centers operated by joint-powers agreements (JPAs) or COEs. Some CTE programs are blended with academic programs in what is known as a “linked learning model.” Community colleges and technical institutes also offer CTE at the postsecondary level.

Improved outcomes for CTE students. A wide body of research indicates that involvement in CTE coursework provides improved academic outcomes and other benefits to students with findings, such as the following:

• Students with greater exposure to CTE are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in a two-year college, be employed, and earn higher wages;
• The average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 93%, compared to an average national graduation rate of 80%;
• Students taking more CTE classes are just as likely to pursue a four-year degree as their peers;
• 91% of high school graduates who earned 2-3 CTE credits enrolled in college;
• CTE provides the greatest boost to students who need it most – boys and students from low-income families; and
• 80% of students taking a college preparatory academic curriculum with rigorous CTE met college and career readiness goals, compared to only 63% of students taking the same academic core who did not experience rigorous CTE.

Recommended Committee Amendments. Staff recommends that the bill be amended as follows:

• Change the term “college acceleration” to “college readiness” in order to avoid creating a new term of art in the EC.
• Specify the years in which the CDE is required to be used in the study.
• Require the CDE to include in the study the number of successfully completed college courses by each pupil.
• Specify the CDE include in the study the following, to the extent that data is available: the number of pupils participating in each type of college acceleration program that earn a baccalaureate degree within four years of high school graduation or an associate degree within two years of high school graduation, and the percentage of successfully completed college acceleration courses for which pupils were not awarded credit at their postsecondary institution for each type of college acceleration program. The CDE does not currently collect this information.
• Require the CDE to coordinate data collection efforts with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the California State University, the University of California, and Cradle to Career in order to reduce duplication.
• Establish 2028 as the first year for the CDE to complete the report in order for local educational agencies and the CDE to update their data collection systems to reflect the changes necessary to complete the study.

Related legislation. AB 359 (Holden) of the 2023-24 Session would amend CCAP partnerships to align with best practices from other dual enrollment programs and to streamline access to dual enrollment for K-12 students throughout the state.

AB 1189 (Gipson) of the 2023-24 Session would require school districts serving students in grades 9 to 12 to offer CTE. This bill was held in the Assembly Education Committee.

AB 1959 (Quirk-Silva) of the 2023-24 Session would have added, in areas of the EC that provide certain authorizations to the AP course and exam program and IB course and exam program, other course and exam programs, such as Cambridge Assessment International Education. The bill also would have required the State Board of Education to develop criteria for evaluating other course and exam programs for inclusion in the areas of the EC that provide certain authorization to AP and IB. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 368 (Holden), Chapter 521, Statutes of 2023, requires community colleges who participate in CCAP partnerships to provide priority registration for participating high school students. Adds clarity to existing sections of the CCAP partnerships by providing a definition for “underrepresented in higher education” and that courses offered in CCAP partnerships may be provided to students on either a high school campus or a community college campus.

AB 181 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022, establishes and allocates $547 million for the A–G Completion Improvement Grant Program. Authorizes, as a use of the grant, AP and IB fees for unduplicated (foster youth, low-income, and English learner) pupils.

AB 2617 (Holden) of the 2021-22 Session would have established a grant program administered by the CDE for the purpose of increasing participation in dual enrollment programs at designated LEAs. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 102 (Holden), Chapter 902, Statutes of 2022, authorizes COEs to enter into CCAP partnerships with the governing board of CCC districts, and removes the sunset date for the CCAP partnerships.

AB 181 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022, included funding for two programs to support dual enrollment: $500 million for the Golden State Pathways Program, and $200 million for the Dual Enrollment Funding Opportunity Program, a competitive grant program aimed at increasing programs that provide high school students with access to college level courses.

AB 2364 (Holden), Chapter 299, Statutes of 2016, requires a community college district to exempt all special part-time students, as specified, from nonresident fees and allows these students to be reported as resident FTES to receive associated state apportionments.

AB 288 (Holden), Chapter 618, Statutes of 2015, authorizes the governing board of a CCC district to enter into a CCAP partnership with the governing board of a school district in its immediate service area, with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to CCC in order to offer or expand dual enrollment opportunities for students who may not be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education; and, outlines the conditions that must be met prior to the adoption of the CCAP agreement. Requires, on or before January 1, 2021, the CCC Chancellor to report to the Legislature, an evaluation of the CCAP partnerships, an assessment of trends in the growth of special admits system-wide and by campus, and, based upon the data collected recommendations for program improvements.

SB 532 (Hernández), Chapter 238, Statutes of 2011, requires the SPI to annually update the information on AP available on the CDE website to include current information on the various means available to school districts to offer or access AP courses, including online courses, and to annually communicate with high schools that offer AP courses in fewer than 5 subjects and inform them of the various options for making AP courses and other rigorous courses available to pupils who may benefit from them. Requires the SPI to annually update information on the IB Diploma Program available on the CDE’s website and to provide support to high schools that offer IB courses. Encouraged the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges, the Academic Senate of the CSU, and the Academic Senate of the UC to continue their efforts to adopt consistent systemwide guidelines for the acceptance and granting of credit for IB Diploma Program courses taken by students while they are in high school.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Marguerite Ries / ED. / (916) 319-2087