Equitable Course Placement and Completion in California Community Colleges - An Overview of Historic Policy Reforms to Improve Student Success and Close Racial Equity Gaps in Completion

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Equitable Course Placement and Completionat California Community Colleges outlines policy reforms that changed how incoming students are placed into college-level English and math, replacing remedial “mazes” with transfer-level pathways. The document traces investments such as the BSSOT Program and the landmark AB 705 law, reporting higher direct placement rates and substantial gains in transfer-level completion. It quantifies reduced racial equity gaps, improved resilience through COVID, and identifies next steps to strengthen data-backed student supports and ensure equitable completion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

CALIFORNIA’S PROMISE TO STUDENTS

DATA PROVEN POLICY CHANGES WORKING FOR STUDENTS

WHERE ARE WE & WHAT’S NEXT?

Equitable Course Placement and Completionat California Community Colleges: # An overview of historic policy reforms to improve studentsuccess and close racial equity gaps in completion Today's community college students enter college and are placed directly into a math or Englishcourse that counts toward their degree,credential or transfer goals.It wasn't always this way.Prior to critical reforms by lawmakers in 2017,the vast majority of incoming community collegestudents were placed in a maze of remedial courses that had no transferable credits and coststudents time and money,while cutting their likelihood of completing degree and transferrequirements nearly in half.A series of data-driven efforts by the state policymakers over thelast nine years have driven dramatic changes in how California Community Colleges(CCC)placestudents into initial English and math courses and positive impact for student success. ## CALIFORNIA’S PROMISE TO STUDENTS Spurred by research that found only one in five students placed in remedial education willever complete a degree²,in 2015 the legislature invested $60 million in the Basic Skills andStudent Outcomes Transformation(BSSOT)Program which provided one-time grants tocolleges to adopt or scale a set of high-impact practices proven to substantially increasestudent completion of transfer-level courses in English and math,or an industry-recognizedcertificate or degree within two years.An additional $30 million was invested in theprogram given the significant response in the field for these funds and demand exceedinginitial investment.A total of $90 million was invested in colleges to drive innovation andhelp set the stage for future policy reform.Many colleges have credited the BSSOT Programwith helping them undertake the work to reform their assessment and placement practices. Building on these earlier investments,the legislature unanimously passed AB 705 authoredby Assemblymember Irwin in 2017.This landmark law required CCC to use students'highschool grades as the primary means of placement instead of relying on inaccurate andinequitable placement tests;restricted colleges from denying students access to transferable,college-level courses;and gave students the right to begin in courses wherethey have the best chance of completing the English and math requirements for abachelor's degree.The right to access transfer-level coursework included English as aSecond Language (ESL)students who have a goal to earn a degree or transfer.AB 705required that colleges could use placement tests to place students in credit bearing ESLcourses that maximized the probability that ESL students are able to complete transfer-levelEnglish courses within three years or less. Early results of AB 705 implementation demonstrated the law working as intended: ·95%of students enrolled directly in transfer-level English in fall 2019,and 79%enrolled directly in transfer-level math. ·Student completion of transfer-level courses increased from 49%to 67%in English and from 26%to 50%in math statewide (2015-2019) ·Every student group studied had seen their completion of transfer-level courses risesubstantially,including students with low high school GPAs,students with disabilities,foster youth,veterans,students over the age of 35,and low-income students. Despite these historic gains,only a handful of colleges had achieved 100%implementation of thelaw by fall 2020 and Black and Latinx students were still disproportionately impacted byinequitable access to transfer-level courses.In 2022,policymakers renewed their commitment toequitable placement and completion through unanimous passage of AB 1705(Irwin)paired with a$64 million investment in the Equitable Placement and Completion Grant program.AB 1705provides clarity and additional guidance to colleges to help ensure all CCC students benefit fromthe success of AB 705,including providing greater protections for students.The grant programsupported this policy refin

FAQs

What problem did AB 705 and earlier reforms target in California community colleges?

They targeted inaccurate and inequitable placement practices that steered most incoming students into remedial courses without transferable credits, reducing completion and transfer chances.

What results are reported after implementing AB 705?

Statewide, transfer-level English enrollment and completion increased, and transfer-level math placement and completion also rose. Student groups including learners with low GPAs, disabilities, foster youth, veterans, students over 35, and low-income students saw completion gains.

What does the document identify as the next steps after initial placement improvements?

It calls for continued collaboration between the state and colleges to ensure high-impact, accessible, data-backed student supports, improve math access, and further close racial equity gaps in course completion.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys