Pullias Researchers Examine English Misalignment of Former English Learners in California Community Colleges

Lost Transitions: The Cost of Inter-sector Misalignment for English Learners in Community Colleges, a new brief from the Pullias Center examines findings from the center’s study of community college students with a native language other than English who built proficiency in English through special support in K-12 public schools.  That study showed more than 70% of all college-ready students in the sample, drawn from a large community college district in California, experience English misalignment and that Black and Latina/o students, as well as students whose home language is Spanish, experienced higher misalignment rates than their peers.

Using student records from a large urban school district and a large community college district, the research team evaluated the prevalence of inter-sector English misalignment – defined as the placement into developmental coursework of students who have previously met standards indicating readiness to succeed in college-level English – and investigated the relationship between college-readiness among ELs, college English course placement, and credit accumulation.

“Misalignment between the K-12 and postsecondary sectors may undermine college-ready students,” notes Tatiana Melguizo, faculty member of the Pullias Center and a professor at the USC Rossier School of Education , “For this reason it is important to gain an understanding of the links between English Learners’ K-12 and postsecondary opportunities.”

This policy brief is based on the results of a previous paper from the same authors, (Melguizo, T., Flores, S.M., Velasquez, D., & Carrol, T) that was published in the Journal of Higher Education. This policy brief provides some indication of the breadth of college-ready students who have the potential to benefit from policy goals set through legislation like AB705 in California.  AB705 requires that a community college district or college maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within a one year timeframe and use, high school coursework, high school grades, or high school grade point average in the placement of students into those English and math courses.

Learn more about Pullias Center research on math equity and college completion on our website.