Abstract
Like many states in the nation, California has struggled with preparing more high school graduates to be college- or career-ready for post-secondary opportunities in the 21st-century. David Conley (2005) indicated that students are college-ready when they are able to successfully meet the requirements of entry-level college courses. ACT (2006) describes career-ready as being able to enter a job or training program likely to offer both a wage that can support a small family and has the potential for career advancement. While historically high school students have chosen a course of study that either prepares them for college eligibility or a vocation, educators and political and business leaders are now claiming that the skills and knowledge needed for college or a 21st-century career are virtually the same. This study explored how large, low-performing, California high schools that received Immediate Intervention/Underperforming School Program funds in the early 2000s prepared high school graduates to be college- or career-ready. This study analyzed the A-G completion rates of 32 schools that received California intervention funds in the early 2000s and compared the results to 32 similar schools that did not receive intervention funds. The results demonstrated a pattern of increased A-G completion rates for the intervention schools when compared to the 2001 base year and a decrease in A-G completion rates for the comparison schools when compared to the 2001 base year. The intervention schools had a significant increase in the A-G completion rates when comparing 2005 to 2001. The significant increase was also true for Latino American students in intervention schools in 2005. There were no significant changes for African American students in intervention schools. There were no significant differences in the A-G completion rates between the intervention and comparison schools.