Appendix A

OUR ANALYSIS OF STUDENT ACCESS TO COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSEWORK

Table A summarizes the results of our analysis of college preparatory coursework access. We reviewed schedules of courses offered at two high schools in each of the three school districts we visited and compared the courses offered to the schools’ enrollments. Although there were significant limitations to the data, when such data was available, our analysis suggests that the schools provided students with sufficient access to college preparatory coursework. Each school we reviewed did not meet the minimum access requirements in every category for every year; however, the deficiencies we noted were unlikely to have affected students’ opportunities to complete all of the college preparatory coursework requirements.

Table A
Access to College Preparatory Coursework at the Six High Schools We Reviewed

HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSEWORK REQUIREMENTS	COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSEWORK ACCESS PER ACADEMIC YEAR				TARGET ACCESS PERCENTAGE NECESSARY FOR STUDENTS TO MEET REQUIREMENT OVER A FOUR‑YEAR PERIOD
HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSEWORK REQUIREMENTS	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15
Coachella Valley Unified School District
Coachella Valley High School					Based on trimester schedule
(A) History—2 years	73%	*	*	*	50%
(B) English—4 years	169	*	*	*	100
(C) Mathematics—2 years	109	*	*	*	75
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	62	*	*	*	50
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	37^†	*	*	*	50
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	36	*	*	*	25
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	32	*	*	*	25 or excess capacity in other subcategory
Desert Mirage High School					Based on semester schedule
(A) History—2 years	*	*	*	54%	50%
(B) English—4 years	*	*	*	119	100
(C) Mathematics—2 years	*	*	*	92	75
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	*	*	*	48^‡	50
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	*	*	*	33^†	50
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	*	*	*	40	25
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	*	*	*	8^§	25 or excess capacity in other subcategory
San Francisco Unified School District
Mission High School					Based on semester schedule
(A) History—2 years	^	^	80%	95%	50%
(B) English—4 years	^	^	125	147	100
(C) Mathematics—2 years	^	^	116	130	75
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	^	^	109	109	50
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	^	^	56	58	50
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	^	^	50	59	25
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	^	^	16^§	36	25 or excess capacity in other subcategory
Washington High School					Based on semester schedule
(A) History—2 years	*	*	83%	61%	50%
(B) English—4 years	*	*	128	113	100
(C) Mathematics—2 years	*	*	119	122	75
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	*	*	107	108	50
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	*	*	70	71	50
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	*	*	51	53	25
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	*	*	23^§	27	25 or excess capacity in other subcategory
Stockton Unified School District
Edison High School					Based on semester schedule
(A) History—2 years	75%	80%	68%	67%	25.0%
(B) English—4 years	110	111	111	102	50.0
(C) Mathematics—2 years	101	97	92	90	37.5
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	48	72	60	57	25.0
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	64	57	56	63	25.0
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	54	52	54	51	12.5
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	25	31	23	5^§	12.5 or excess capacity in other subcategory
Franklin High School					Based on semester schedule
(A) History—2 years	68%	66%	79%	57%	50%
(B) English—4 years	100	94^#	101	92**	100
(C) Mathematics—2 years	86	85	98	94	75
(D) Laboratory Science—2 years	52	60	64	65	50
(E) Foreign Language—2 years	48^††	45^††	47^††	56	50
(F) Visual and Performing Arts—1 year	42	39	33	30	25
(G) College Preparatory Elective—1 year	18^§	12^§	36	18^§	25 or excess capacity in other subcategory

Source: California State Auditor’s analysis of course schedule and enrollment data from Coachella Valley, San Francisco, and Stockton Unified School Districts.

Notes: Target percentages vary based on school schedule type. For example, the (a) category requires two years of various combinations of history courses. For a school based on a semester schedule to provide 100 percent access in the (a) category, it would need to ensure that adequate seats existed for 50 percent of the students to take an (a) course in any given year. This would allow half the students to complete 10 credits in a given year, thereby allowing the potential for all students to satisfy the 20‑credit or two‑year requirement within four years. However, other schedule types, such as Edison High School’s four‑period block schedule, allowed students to take 10 credits in a given course in the span of time it would usually take a student to receive five credits in a traditionally semester schedule. This ability to take more credits across fewer periods changes the yearly target percentage.

* We did not conduct analysis related to Coachella Valley High School in 2012 through 2015 and Desert Mirage High School in 2011 through 2014 due to district business practices, which resulted in courses being labeled as inactive. This business practices prevented us from determining whether courses listed in the district’s database reflected courses which were actually taught or merely courses that were planned but not taught.

^† Although Coachella Valley High School and Desert Mirage High School are below the target percentage in their respective foreign language levels, the enrolled population is primarily composed of native Spanish speakers who would likely qualify to take higher‑level foreign language courses. University policy allows for validations based on higher‑level foreign language courses, thus satisfying the requirement.

^‡ Although laboratory science is deficient by 2 percent, the effect would be limited to a potential of approximately 40 students and could have been resolved by excess capacity in other years.

^§ A lack of capacity in the (g) category can be made up by using excess capacity in any other subcategory. Sufficient additional capacity existed within other college preparatory subcategories.

^{^} We did not conduct analysis for San Francisco Unified School District related to 2011–12 and 2012–13 due to data limitations which prevented us from determining course length and maximum credits.

^# Franklin High School had sufficient capacity in college preparatory English when we adjusted for students enrolled in English resource courses.

** Although Franklin High School appears deficient in academic year 2014–15, students were actually enrolled in grade‑level appropriate courses that provided access, although this action required the school to enroll students past the maximum capacity of the individual sections.

^†† In academic years 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14, this potential deficiency was caused by uncertified courses incorrectly identified by the district as certified by the university. The university allows foreign language courses above the second year to validate students who have moved directly to higher‑level courses. Higher‑level foreign language courses in the prior year would have satisfied the access requirement for students enrolled in the affected classes.

Appendix B

STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS OF THREE SELECTED DISTRICTS

We were asked to provide the number of students enrolled by race for each of the three districts we selected for review and the average completion rate by English learner status, among other things. Table B.1 summarizes student demographics in our three selected districts from our three cohorts in graduation years 2013 through 2015. As we indicated in Chapter 1, Chicano/Latino students averaged 96 percent of the student population in Coachella Valley Unified School District.

Table B.2 summarizes completion rates by English learner status in our three selected districts from our three cohorts that completed high school from 2013 through 2015. This analysis shows, for example, that the percentage of English learners in Stockton Unified School District who completed college preparatory coursework ranged from 4 percent to 9 percent.

Table B.1
Enrollment in Cohorts Graduated in 2013 Through 2015

ETHNICITY/RACE	STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY GRADUATING YEAR
	2013				2014				2015
	GENDER		TOTALS		GENDER		TOTALS		GENDER		TOTALS
	FEMALE	MALE	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE	FEMALE	MALE	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE	FEMALE	MALE	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE
Coachella Valley Unified School District
American Indian	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Asian	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Black/African American	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Chicano/Latino	593	652	1,245	96	605	649	1,254	97	540	663	1,203	97
Not specified	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Pacific Islander	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Two or more races	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
White	19	16	35	3	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Totals	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%
San Francisco Unified School District
American Indian	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Asian	1,016	1,046	2,062	54	1,061	1,138	2,199	58	973	1,108	2,081	56
Black/African American	196	193	389	10	169	170	339	9	151	165	316	8
Chicano/Latino	380	406	786	21	372	397	769	20	379	421	800	22
Not specified	85	92	177	5	60	53	113	3	62	49	111	3
Pacific Islander	25	30	55	1	22	16	38	1	29	22	51	1
Two or more races	23	24	47	1	27	22	49	1	35	26	61	2
White	154	149	303	8	141	157	298	8	146	146	292	8
Totals	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%
Stockton Unified School District
American Indian	62	73	135	6%	69	66	135	6%	49	43	92	4%
Asian	209	236	445	18	201	211	412	17	199	212	411	16
Black/African American	157	152	309	12	138	154	292	12	147	157	304	12
Chicano/Latino	692	693	1,385	55	683	658	1,341	56	761	781	1,542	60
Not specified	*	*	*	*	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Two or more races	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	11	12	23	1
White	109	121	230	9	91	112	203	9	100	89	189	7
Totals	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%	*	*	*	100%

Source: California State Auditor’s analysis of student data provided by Coachella Valley, San Francisco, and Stockton Unified School Districts.

* To protect individual privacy, we omitted this number because it would identify 10 or fewer students. Such omission is in accordance with aggregate data reporting guidelines issued by the California and United States Department of Education.

Table B.2
College Preparatory Coursework Completion by English Learner Status

ENGLISH LEARNER STATUS	COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSEWORK COMPLETION BY GRADUATION YEAR
ENGLISH LEARNER STATUS	2013	2014	2015
Coachella Valley Unified School District
English learner	11%	12%	13%
Reclassified as fluent	43	51	48
Initially fluent/English native	22	28	30
San Francisco Unified School District
English learner	39%	41%	51%
Reclassified as fluent	74	77	78
Initially fluent/English native	60	63	71
Stockton Unified School District
English learner	4%	6%	9%
Reclassified as fluent	26	29	26
Initially fluent/English native	20	22	21

Source: California State Auditor’s analysis of student data provided by Coachella Valley, San Francisco, and Stockton Unified School Districts.

Note: We excluded students who left the district.