California
California State Card (Updated July 2009)
State cards provide a statistical snapshot of high schools for each state in the nation and the District of Columbia. The cards include economic information, data on high school graduation and college completion rates, academic achievement, and states’ progress in building a longitudinal data system. Where applicable, statewide numbers are compared to the national average and include national rankings.
Preparing Students for College and Career: California Multiple Pathways (June 30, 2009) 
Issue Brief (PDF)
June 30, 2009
To prepare students for success in life, the twenty-first-century American high school needs to shift its focus from preparing for college or career to achieving college and career readiness for every student. One of the most comprehensive efforts towards this goal is the “multiple pathways” initiative in California, which is a reform model aimed at improving high schools by pairing a rigorous college preparatory curriculum with an industry theme while offering the supports and workplace exposure that can be critical to students’ success. The initiative provides multiyear programs of study that are rigorous, relevant, and directly connected to regional and state economic needs. This brief details the multiple pathways movement in California, developed in response to poor and inequitable student outcomes, as it continues to garner interest and develop a growing base of evidence. The discussion lays out the rationale for the approach and the implications of this California-based effort for stakeholders seeking to address the national dropout crisis. Press Release
Federal High School Graduation Rate Policies and the Impact on California
This brief outlines current high school graduation policies in the state and describes how recent regulations from the U.S. Department of Education could impact these policies. It also highlights the state's unique policy concerns and hurdles that must still be addressed.
Potential Economic Impacts of Improved Education on California
This economic impact fact sheet helps policymakers and the public understand the extent of the economic costs to society of an educational system that serves so many students poorly. It also provides an overview of the potential economic benefits that a state could enjoy were it to invest in a high school system that prepares all high school students for graduation and success after high school.
Understanding California's High School Graduation Rates
Unacceptably low graduation rates, particularly among poor and minority students, have been obscured for far too long by inaccurate data, calculations, and reporting, and inadequate accountability systems at the state and federal levels. Understanding High School Graduation Rates provides the latest graduation rate statistics, demonstrates graduation gaps between demographic groups, illustrates the discrepancies in graduation rates reported by government and independent sources, and examines the economic costs of dropouts to individuals and society.
Promoting Power
How does your local high school measure up? View the complete list of high schools in your state or congressional district and their Promoting Power.
California's Ten Largest School Districts
The chart provides graduation rate calculations for the state's ten largest school districts by enrollment. The chart provides an overall graduation rate for the school district and also breaks down graduation rates by student subgroup when available.
Education News from California
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS COST CALIFORNIA BILLIONS IN LOST WAGES:
If the nearly 162,000 high school dropouts from the Class of 2008 had earned their diplomas instead of dropping out, California’s economy would have seen an additional $42.1 billion in wages over these students’ lifetimes. A chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/HighCost.pdf.
CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMY COULD SEE BILLIONS IN WEALTH ACCUMULATION BY RAISING THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE:
If the high school dropouts who currently head households in California had earned their diplomas, the state’s economy would have benefited from an additional $9.2 billion in wealth accumulated by families. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/hiddenbenefits.pdf.
CALIFORNIA COULD SAVE BILLIONS IN HEALTH CARE COSTS BY RAISING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES
If all of the students in California who are estimated to drop out of school this year earn diplomas instead, the state could save more than $2.3 billion over the course of those young people’s lifetimes. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/HandW.pdf.
CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMY WOULD SEE BILLIONS IF THE MINORITY GRADUATION RATE WAS RAISED TO THE LEVEL OF THEIR WHITE CLASSMATES
If California’s high schools and colleges were to raise the graduation rates of Hispanic, African-American, and Native-American students to the levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income in the state would add more than $101 billion to California’s economy. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/demography.pdf.
CALIFORNIA SPENDS MILLIONS ANNUALLY ON REMEDIAL EDUCATION FOR RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
California spends over $688 million each year to provide community college remediation education for recent high school graduates who did not acquire the basic skills necessary to succeed in college or at work. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/remediation.pdf.
FIVE PERCENT INCREASE IN MALE GRADUATION RATE COULD SAVE CALIFORNIA OVER ONE BILLION IN CRIME-RELATED SPENDING
Were California to increase the graduation rate and college matriculation of its male students by only 5 percent, the state could see combined savings and revenue of almost $1.1 billion each year. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/SavingFutures.pdf.
TEACHER TURNOVER COULD COST CALIFORNIA MILLIONS ANNUALLY
More than 31,861 teachers in California will not be returning to the schools where they taught last year. What’s more, replacing these individuals could cost the state up to $456 million. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/TeacherAttrition.pdf.