Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families-- especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

Mixtecos are Indigenous people that originate from the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla, in Mexico. This community is unique in that it speaks an unwritten language with different variations based on locations north or south of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla. California and other agricultural states have been the major relocation areas for…

Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on four factors key to educational attainment--aspirations and beliefs, academic preparation,…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. This report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. We consider a range of achievement measures, including initial enrollments,…

In dual enrollment programs, high school students can take college courses and earn both high school and college credit--but in the past, dual enrollment had been used mostly by high-achieving students. In 2016, the California Legislature passed a law that expanded access to students who had been underserved in higher education. The resulting…

Reading motivation may help explain some discrepancies in higher education attainment among Latinx adolescents. Using a person-centered approach to understand underlying reading motivation profiles among N = 254 Latinx adolescents, results identified four ordered classes of reading motivation including, (a) a "High" class characterized…

Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education Commission of the States 2019). However, historically it has been accessible only to high-achieving students taking…

These are the appendices for the report, "Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment." Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education…

Latino students are significantly underrepresented in higher education. As the largest and fastest growing racial/ethnic population in the US, this is cause for national concern. Additionally, this rapid population growth is a call for community and school leaders from underserved communities to assess their service areas and focus on…

As of 2014, 24 states require students to pass exit exams to graduate from high school. In California, all high school students are required to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) to earn a diploma. Failure to pass the CAHSEE is linked with school dropout, which is associated with many deleterious outcomes and…

This phenomenological study explored the impact of marital expectations and socio-economic status on post-secondary educational and professional goals of Northern California Asian Indian immigrant women both before and after marriage. For the purposes of this study, 15 Southeast Asian Indian immigrant women from the Sacramento metropolitan region…

This report provides a first look at selected findings from the first follow-up of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 focuses on understanding students' trajectories from the beginning of high school into higher education and the workforce. The core research questions for the study explore secondary to postsecondary…

Bolstered by the recommendations of the 1998 Boyer Report, US federal agencies have put significant resources into promoting opportunities for undergraduates to engage in research. American universities and colleges have been creating support programs and curricular opportunities intended to create a "culture of undergraduate research."…

This First Look presents findings from the base-year survey of the newly launched High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), the first round of a study that will follow a ninth-grade cohort through high school and into their postsecondary years. HSLS:09 is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) high school…

In 2009, the authors surveyed a population of 1,588 persons who work in three types of early childhood infrastructure organizations in California--child care resource and referral programs, local First 5 commissions and as child care coordinators. All of these infrastructure organizations receive public dollars and at least one of each type is…