California Ranks High among College Readiness Reporting

The recipient of a master’s degree in education from California State Polytechnic University, Rey Mayoral has over 40 years of experience as a teacher and administrator within the education field. Since 2014, Rey Mayoral has served as a project consultant with Marin County Office of Education, where among other responsibilities, he leads college readiness workshops. 

More than half of California's student population is composed of historically-underserved Latino students. It also has more than 1.4 million English as a second language students. Both of those figures, combined with the increasing amount of first-generation college students in the state, stress the importance of properly preparing students for postsecondary education. 

For instance, the University of California Irvine recently earned Hispanic-serving institution status, while over half the members of its graduating class in 2017 were the first members of their family to graduate from college. Accurate reporting of such figures varies from state to state, but according to a recently released report from Achieve, the State of California is ahead of the curve in reporting its college-readiness-related statistics.

In the report, California received high rankings in statewide reporting of four-year graduation rates and postsecondary remediation rates across student groups of diverse backgrounds and learning disabilities. The state also did well in terms of career and college-ready course completion. 

Additionally, the state finished slightly above the national average in overall score with 18 of a possible 32 points. Minnesota ranked the highest, while Pennsylvania ranked the lowest with only 4 points. The high level of transparency doesn't ensure success in preparing students for college, but it's vital in holding key figures accountable and shining a light on student groups facing opportunity gaps.