Equity in College Placement

For decades, the unfortunate reality at the California Community Colleges (CCC) was that more than 75% of incoming students were assessed as not college ready based on their performance on questionable standardized tests and were required to enroll in remedial math and/or English classes. While remedial classes were intended to support students to reach a college degree, they often have the opposite effect – taking years to complete, requiring students to pay for classes that do not count toward a degree or transfer, and forcing students to repeat coursework covered during their K-12 education. A decade of research has made clear that, regardless of the original intent, remedial classes make students less likely to complete college.

“I remember thinking it would only take me two years to transfer. It took me seven. It made me feel like I hadn’t done enough in high school OR college, like I had done something wrong somewhere in the process. I even felt guilty for working and not being able to go to school full-time at times, but regardless, I was stuck in community college until I was able to take the math class required to transfer.”

Neyda Umana
Former Student, East Los Angeles College and Rio Hondo College

Fighting for Equitable Placement

The Campaign for College Opportunity’s education and advocacy have played a significant role in redesigning remedial education policy at colleges, including:

• Secured more than $90 million in state investments to help colleges redesign their placement practices

• Initiated historic legislation (Assembly Bill 705, Irwin) that requires colleges to recognize high school coursework instead of relying on inaccurate and inequitable placement tests and required that students be placed into English and math classes where they have the greatest chance to make progress toward a college degree.

• Convening a diverse coalition of community college students and campus leaders, higher education advocates, and civil rights organizations in support of equitable placement reform implementation.

• Co-lead efforts to strengthen equitable placement and completion policy (AB 1705, Irwin) and helped secure $64 million to support colleges in implementing equitable placement and completion policies and practices.

“I’m so grateful that I didn’t get trapped in remedial courses I didn’t need. I got an A in College Statistics, and now I am on my way to earning a degree… Every student deserves this kind of opportunity.”

Andres Salazar
Former Student, College of the Canyons

Recognizing Excellence in Placement

Since 2022, we recognize California Community College campuses removing remedial barriers for students, ensuring that their students directly enroll in and complete transfer-level English and math courses in our annual Excellence in Placement award ceremony. We additionally honor those campuses that are supporting their Black and Latinx students to enroll and succeed in transfer-level coursework.