Optimizing Student Success: A Report on Placement in English and Mathematics Pathways

Guided pathways increases attention to individual student journeys through California's community colleges, intentionally addressing innovations to optimize student success in completing the students' educational goals. This report primarily concerns placement and success in English pathways, including reading, and mathematics pathways, including all quantitative reasoning, as it directly relates to implementation of AB 705 (Irwin, 2017, codified in California Education Code section 78213) and evaluation of that implementation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this report only compares trend data from fall term student course-taking and outcomes data, comparing Fall 2019, the first term of system-wide implementation, with trends from fall terms 2016, 2017, 2018. The goal of the report is to examine student success, intended and unintended outcomes of the new English and mathematics pathways placement protocols, and variables to continue to optimize student success and the student experience. With the intent of optimizing student success, it focuses on data and information about the reform of student assessment and placement practices in the California community colleges in areas including the following: (1) legislation, regulations, and guidance; (2) early results, including both state-wide and local college analyses; (3) successes, challenges; and (4) considerations for evaluating local placement protocols. The goal of the report is to share information on student outcomes and encourage broad and robust dialog about how best to focus on serving local student populations, especially the historically disproportionately impacted populations. [This report was prepared by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Guided Pathways Task Force with consideration of feedback from various stakeholders throughout the California Community College System.]