SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today commented on a new University Eligibility Study [http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2008reports/08-20.pdf] (Outside Source; Modified 10-Dec-2009; PDF; 163KB; 11pp.) released by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC).

"The University Eligibility Study gives us some good news about the progress we are making in preparing our K-12 students for college," O'Connell said. "I am particularly  pleased to see that we are narrowing the achievement gap in college eligibility for both Latino and African American students.

"These results show that many more California high school graduates are likely to seek a university education in the next few years. The importance of this trend is heightened in light of new research released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) on California's future workforce. The PPIC study shows there are currently not enough college graduates to meet the demand of California employers and this gap will likely widen in the coming decades."

The CPEC study found that Latino students' eligibility rate for California State University (CSU) nearly doubled from a rate of 13.4 percent in 1996 to 22.5 percent in 2007. At the University of California (UC), Latino students' eligibility also nearly doubled from a rate of 3.8 percent to 6.9 percent for the same period. There were also impressive gains for African American students whose CSU eligibility grew from 13.2 percent in 1996 to 24 percent in 2007. At UC, African American students' eligibility also grew from 2.8 percent to 6.3 percent for the same period. Though the study indicates that the overall high school students' eligibility rate for UC has fallen slightly (14.4 percent in 2003 to 13.4 percent in 2007), the eligibility rate for CSU has risen from 28.8 percent in 2003 to 32.7 percent in 2007.

"Latinos — California's fastest-growing ethnic group — and African Americans have increased college eligibility rates in strong numbers," O'Connell said, "We clearly  have more work to do to ensure that all students are well prepared for success in college and the workforce, but we can all be proud that we are making good progress toward ensuring that all students who want a college education will have the opportunity to successfully complete the requirements for four-year college admission while in high school.

"We also must be vigilant in doing everything possible to urge the Governor and the Legislature to provide our schools with the necessary resources to offer even more challenging academic courses and the necessary support services our students need for success in both college and careers in the economy of the 21st century."