Though more students are entering college, many drop out, especially those who are low income and/or of color. To address this problem, educational stakeholders have focused on the concept of "college readiness," or the preparation a student needs to succeed in college. However, what it means to be college ready and how to help more students become ready are questions without clear answers. By way of historical and contemporary analyses, this book uses California as a case study to demonstrate how the state has endeavored to make postsecondary opportunity accessible for all students. The contributors also explore the challenges that remain and address what states and schools can do to improve college readiness and completion. Chapters include: (1) The Problem of College Readiness (Julia C. Duncheon); (2) The Roots of College Readiness: An Old Problem with New Complexities (Daniel J. Almeida); (3) The Challenge of the Least Ready: A Historical Perspective (Bryan Adán Rodríguez); (4) College Readiness and Low Income Youth: The Role of Social Capital in Acquiring College Knowledge (Daniel J. Almeida); (5) The Early Assessment Program: Is Early Notification Enough? (Lisa D. Garcia); (6) Making Sense of Contested Terrain: Writing Remediation, Faculty Perspectives, and the Challenge of Implementation (Julia C. Duncheon); (7) On the Path to Completion: Exploring how higher Education Policy Influences the Least Ready College Students (Bryan Adán Rodríguez); and (8) The Way Forward: Looking Back (William G. Tierney). An index is included.