Over 40 California Community Colleges Excel in Equitable Course Placement
(Los Angeles, CA) – Today at 4pm PST, the Campaign for College Opportunity will recognize over 40 California Community Colleges at the inaugural Excellence in Placement award ceremony. Community college campuses will be honored for implementing landmark placement policy AB 705, championed by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin and signed into law in 2017. Additionally, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis will receive an honor for championing equitable course placement. Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin will join the celebration for remarks and to award colleges for their achievements.
Prior to AB 705, the vast majority of incoming community college students were being placed into remedial math and English courses that ultimately discouraged and derailed students on their college journeys. Over a decade of research has shown that students’ likelihood of earning a degree decreases when they start college in remedial courses.
“At a time when community colleges have seen serious declines in student enrollment, we should be supporting students on the best pathway to achieve success and earn a degree. When our colleges enroll students in transfer-level English and math within their first year, they’re making progress toward their degree from the start! The result is that students save time and money, have fewer obstacles to earning a degree, and the economic standing of our communities and California is strengthened,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity.
AB 705 has proven to be highly consequential for increasing access to transfer-level coursework, maximizing student success, and closing racial/ethnic equity gaps. By starting in transfer-level English, completion rates have tripled for Black students and more than doubled for Latinx students. In math, completion rates have quadrupled for Black students and Latinx students. Many colleges are also being recognized with equity designations for supporting Black and Latinx students to access and succeed in transfer-level math and English.