12th Grade Course-Taking and the Distribution of Opportunity for College Readiness in Mathematics

In this report, the authors explore the patterns in mathematics course-taking among California public high school seniors. They describe what courses students are enrolled in and how course participation varies by key student characteristics, such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and performance level on the state's 11th grade assessments. The authors also explore course-taking patterns for students eligible for California's public four-year colleges--California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), and for applicants and admitted students at the CSU and UC. The findings demonstrate that although a large majority of college-bound students enrolled in math in their final year of high school, advanced math pathways were not equally accessed among our high school seniors. These disparities in enrollment patterns by race/ethnicity and school characteristics likely contribute to disparities in postsecondary access and success.