College and Career Readiness Among California High School
Students
In partnership with the California Department of Education, the
California State University Chancellor’s Office, and the
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, our work
examines the college and career readiness patterns across the
state following the adoption of the Common Core Standards and
their aligned assessments. Topics include, but are not limited
to, dual enrollment, A-G course requirements, high school math
course-taking, the role of assessment, defining college
readiness, and college-going patterns.
Current and Past Funders
Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
College Futures Foundation
Stuart Foundation
Stupski Family Foundation
Tipping Point Community
Enrollment and Persistence of Community College Students
In partnership with the California Community Colleges
Chancellor’s Office, our research explores and describes the
enrollment, persistence, certificate/degree completion, and
transfer patterns of the nearly 2 million community college
students in California, including specific student subgroups
(e.g., parenting students, Latinx students). Our work in this
area also examines the extensive and ongoing impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on student enrollment and outcomes, and how
this varies by subgroup.
Current and Past Funders
College Futures Foundation
Lumina Foundation
Tipping Point Community
Career Technical Education
In collaboration with the California Department of Education and
the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, these
projects investigate the outcomes of high school and community
college students enrolled in Career Technical Education (CTE)
courses and programs. Specifically, this work aims to establish
and refine how to best identify CTE students, understand their
course-taking patterns, and examine the outcomes—college
enrollment, certificate or degree completion, and earnings—of
students who participate in CTE.
Current and Past Funders
Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment
Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education
The James Irvine Foundation
Student Financial Aid
In collaboration with the California Student Aid Commission and
the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, this work
examines how college students in California are financing their
postsecondary education. Specifically, we explore student take-up
of financial aid across aid programs and various student
subgroups, the relationship between financial aid and enrollment,
as well as institutional policies/practices and differences by
campus. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of changes in the
state Cal Grant program on eligibility and award amounts and
long-term student outcomes. Since the pandemic, this work has
expanded to consider how COVID-19 has impacted students’
financial constraints, well-being, and college plans.
Funders
Institute of Educational Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education
College Futures Foundation
California’s Public School Students & Schools
Through this research, we describe the landscape of California’s
public schools (including traditional, charter, alternative, and
community schools) and their students statewide, with a close
lens on specific geographic locales and demographic
characteristics.
Funders
Stuart Foundation
Ball/Frost Group
Student Success and Persistence in College: The Role of
Faculty
Along with partners at California State University, our work
examines the role of faculty on student outcomes, including the
frequency and personalization of faculty engagement with students
on the impact of interactions between faculty and students in a
postsecondary setting.
Funders
College Futures Foundation
Intersegmental Partnerships and Alignment
Our research in this area aims to deepen understanding on
intersegmental partnerships by surveying community and education
leaders across the state to identify best practices. As these
partnerships include the collaborative efforts of stakeholders
from educational, workforce, and community sectors to improve
student outcomes, we examine partnerships’ goals, data use
practices, and capacity in key areas as well as detail additional
resources to support the development of similar partnerships.
Presently, we continue to interrogate the role of such
partnerships in supporting students’ pathways to college through
our work with the Regional K-16 Education Collaboratives on
behalf of UC Davis.
Funders
College Futures Foundation
State of California through K-16 Regional Partnerships
Online Instruction in Community Colleges
The purpose of this project is to understand how comprehensive
professional development training focused on online pedagogy
affects student engagement and outcomes in California community
colleges.
Specifically, we seek to answer the following research
questions:
How do instructor practices in online courses change as a result
of taking comprehensive PD Programs?
Does that PD experience translate into changes in online student
engagement and outcomes?
Read more about this project
here.
Funder
Institute of Educational Sciences
