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High School
California has more than 1,100 high schools serving more than 1.8 million students. Enrollment has been increasing steadily but is expected to level off or decline slightly beginning in 2008. Schools range dramatically in size from fewer than 10 to more than 4,500 students.
Academic expectations for high schools are increasing. But today’s high school—in terms of its organization and curriculum—has changed very little over the past 50 years.
The majority of 11th graders—about two thirds—were deemed not ready for college-level English based on their 2011 EAP results.
September 2011About 19% of all 11th graders were assessed as "ready for college" in English based on the 2011 EAP results, which was higher than in prior ...
September 2011Asian-American high school seniors continue to be more than twice as likely as African American and Latino graduates to successfully complete cours...
September 2011Only 6% of all 11th graders demonstrated college readiness via the Early Assessment Program (EAP) for Math in 2010, and another 16% demonstrated condi...
June 2011About six in 10 Asian students complete the college-prep sequence compared with about a quarter of Native American, Latino, and African American stude...
August 2011Related Publications
A Guide to UC’s New Admissions Policies
One of a series, this is a free 2-page Q&A on the University of California system's new admissi...
October 2010 | Read More >
Multiple Pathways in California: An Emerging Option for High School Reform
This report describes California's efforts to implement the multiple pathways approach to high scho...
November 2009 | Read More >
Community College: A first step to a bachelor's degree
A two-page Q&A for high school students about community college as a first step toward a bachelo...
December 2008 | Read More >
High School to Community College: New Efforts to Build Shared Expectations
This report looks at how K-12 and community college educators can work together to better prepare hi...
November 2008 | Read More >
California Department of Education (CDE)
More information about key high school assessments, including the California Standards Tests (CSTs) and the California high School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and standards pertaining to Career Technical Education (CTE) and other programs.
California State University Early Assessment Program (EAP)
More information about the augmented California Standards Tests (CSTs) taken by many high school students during grade 11, which provide early feedback to students about their college readiness and CSU’s academic expectations.
“a-g” Guide, University of California Office of the President
More information about the California “a-g” course-taking requirements, which high school graduates must satisfy in order to be eligible to enroll at one of the state’s public four-year universities.