The American Community College in the 21st Century - Special Issue - Volume 21 Number 16 - K–12 and Postsecondary Alignment

Oct 15, 2026

The article examines California high school students’ transition to in-state community colleges, using a unique dataset that tracks five cohorts of high school juniors into their freshmen year. It evaluates whether high school achievement tests, not currently used by community colleges for course placement, can predict academic success. The study also investigates how the relationship among high school achievement, course-taking, and performance differs by students’ racial/ethnic backgrounds.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

K–12 and Postsecondary Alignment and College Readiness

Research Focus and Data Overview

| SPECIAL ISSUE | | | | --- | --- | --- | | The American Community College in the 21st Century | | | | education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal |

epaa

aape | | | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 21 Number 16 | February 27th, 2013 | ISSN 1068-2341 | K–12 and Postsecondary Alignment: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Freshmen Course-taking and Performance at California’s Community Colleges Michal Kurlaender University of California, Davis United States of America Matthew F. Larsen Tulane University United States of America Citation: Kurlaender, M. & Larsen, M. (2013) . K-12 and postsecondary alignment: Racial/ethnic differences in freshmen course-taking and performance at California’s community colleges. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21(16) . This article is part of EPAA/AAPE’s Special Issue on Democracy’s College: The American Community College in the 21st Century, Guest Edited by Dr. Jeanne M. Powers and Amelia M. Topper. Retrieved [date], from [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/1195](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/1195) [Abstract:](Abstract: In this paper we focus on California high school students)[ In this paper we focus on California high school students](Abstract: In this paper we focus on California high school students)’ transition to community colleges. Our unique dataset tracks five cohorts of California high school juniors into their freshmen year at in-state community colleges. We evaluate the extent to which high school achievement tests (currently not utilized by community colleges in course placement decisions) are useful for predicting academic success at community college. In addition, given persistent disparities in college attainment by race, we explore whether this fundamental relationship between high school Journal website: [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ ](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript)[ Manuscript](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript) received: 8/2/2012 Facebook: /EPAAA Revisions received: 12/28/2012 Twitter: @epaa_aape Accepted: 1/17/2013 Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 21 No. 16 SPECIAL ISSUE 2 achievement, college course-taking, and performance differs for students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Keywords: community colleges, college readiness, racial/ethnic differences in collegiate outcomes Alineamiento K-12 y estudios universitarios: diferencias raciales/étnicas en rendimiento de estudiantes tomando cursos universitarios introductorios en universidades comunitarias de California. Resumen: En este artículo nos centramos en la transición de estudiantes de escuelas secundarias auniversidades comunitarias en California. Nuestra base de datos rastrea cinco cohortes de jóvenesegresados de escuelas secundarias de California en su primer año en universidades comunitarias del estado. Se evalúa el grado en que las pruebas de rendimiento escolar (en la actualidad no se utilizanpor universidades comunitarias en las decisiones de asignación de cursos) son útiles para predecir el éxito académico en las universidades comunitarias. Además, teniendo en cuenta la persistencia de disparidades raciales en estudios universitarios, se explora si esta relación fundamental entre logros académicos en la escuela secundaria, asistencia a cursos universitarios y rendimiento es diferente para estudiantes de diferentes orígenes raciales/étnicos. Palabras clave: universidades comunitarias; preparación para la universidad; diferenciasraciales/étnicos en resultados académicos. Alinhando educação básica e estudos universitários: diferenças raciais / étnicas nodesempenho de “calouros” em universidades comunitárias na Califórnia. Resumo: Neste artigo focalizamos a transição de alunos do ensino médio para universidades comunitárias na Califórnia. Nosso banco de dados rastreia cinco coortes de jovens que concluíram o Ensino Médio na Califórnia em s

FAQs

What does the study analyze about California students entering community colleges?

It analyzes how California high school students transition to community colleges and whether high school achievement relates to freshmen course-taking and performance.

How does the research evaluate placement tests used in high school?

It evaluates the extent to which high school achievement tests (not currently used for community college course placement) predict academic success in community college.

How do racial/ethnic differences figure into the study’s findings?

The study explores whether the relationship between high school achievement, college course-taking, and performance differs across students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by anakgang17