Data is a definitive force when it comes to legislation, but when your legislation affects real people, what happens to the outliers?

Under AB 1705, non-transfer-level math and English courses have been eliminated in the hope that more, though not all, students will transfer or graduate faster. There may be data behind this claim,  but students are now expected to fit the data instead of being supported by it. AB 1705 is a bill that undermines the purpose of community colleges — to provide for all types of learners — by removing student and teacher autonomy, prioritizing transfer rate speed instead of learning, and limiting access to foundational courses. In prioritizing efficiency, AB 1705 disregards the complexity of the student body it affects.

California community colleges serve a diverse population from working parents and first-generation students to recent high school graduates and people thinking of changing careers. According to the textbook Governing California in the Twenty-First Century, “About 80 percent of California’s 3 million college students attend a University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), or community college campus, with 44 percent of the total attending community colleges” (Michelson et al. 7). California community colleges are cheaper, easier to enroll in, and, in general, just more accessible. All these qualities make community colleges the best option for people to start their journey in higher education. 

This is going to be a good year for California's community colleges.

Prop 98 funds are coming in higher than originally projected. While much of this funding is one-time money, it still represents additional resources for California’s community college system. The Governor’s May Revise adds to the rosiness, proposing the system receive a 4.31% Cost of Living increase that includes money (1.4%) to finally implement 14 weeks of maternity leave for the K-14 system, an inequity long overdue.

Recently, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released a Gates Foundation-funded report: Has Universal Access to Transfer-Level Courses Changed Student Outcomes at California Community Colleges? Many positive trends are noted in the report, including completion rates for transfer-level math courses, especially statistics and liberal arts math. The authors also point out that more students are earning their associate’s degree and transferring to four-year institutions. However, two underlying issues identified in this report could undermine these otherwise encouraging headlines: selection bias and grade inflation.

This report brings up the issue of selection bias in footnote #17. It points out that students post-AB 705 are earning a higher overall grade point average (GPA) in their first year in college. The authors go on to state: “This indicates possible selection effects—specifically, that lower-performing students were more likely to stop enrolling, which may explain the improved long-term outcomes.”