Continuing a decade-long pattern, Asian-American high school seniors are more than twice as likely as African American and Latino graduates to successfully complete course requirements that they need to enter UC and CSU.

Only about one in four Native American, Latino, and African American students met the course entrance requirements for the state’s public universities, according to recently released data from the California Department of Education for the class of 2010. This compared with six in 10 Asian graduates. White, Filipino, and Pacific Islander students fall somewhere in between.

To meet the course eligibility requirements for California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC), students must complete 15 one-year courses (called A-G Courses) with at least a “C” grade. These courses cover history/social science, English, math, science, foreign language, and visual/performing arts.

Altogether, a little more than a third of 2010 graduates met CSU and UC course entrance requirements. This percentage, as well as the variation among ethnic groups, has held steady over time.