A trio of fact sheets released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in April give a snapshot of college readiness, access and value in the state.
While most parents do want to see their child earn at least a bachelor’s degree (71 percent), they are equally worried about affording a college education (69 percent), according to “Is College Worth It?”
Accounting for factors like financial aid, college is typically less expensive than the sticker price including tuition, fees and living expenses, may lead people to believe. At public colleges, non-tuition costs like food and housing make up a large portion of expenses.
Those who attend public colleges are less likely to take out loans and often incur less debt than students who go to for-profit colleges.
PPIC found that in the past decade, the difference in wages between college graduates and high school graduates (known as the college wage premium) has “flattened out at historically high levels.”
Based on data from 2024, in California, individuals with a bachelor’s degree have a median wage of $96,000 which is double that of those with just a high school diploma. Additionally, the college wage premium generally increases on a steady basis over the span of a person’s career. “The median wage gap between college graduates and high school graduates nearly doubles (from 69 percent to 120 percent) when comparing annual earnings of those ages 22-27 and those ages 45-54.”
While those early in their career may have a slow start or experience underemployment, 79 percent of college graduates see a positive return on investment within a decade of graduating. “Beyond wages, the job market favors college graduates in other ways as well,” the brief explains.
Wage benefits do differ across majors, PPIC points out, and variation can exist within majors, but all fields considered had higher median wages than those of high school graduates.
The brief asserts that “society benefits from having more college graduates,” especially because higher levels of education are associated with lower rates of poverty and less participation in social safety net assistance.
“While a college degree does not guarantee financial security, for the vast majority of students it represents their best chance of achieving economic prosperity,” according to the brief.
Still, more students need to have the chance to even attend college.
Setting students up for postsecondary education
The corresponding briefs “College Readiness in California” and “College Access in California” take a deeper look at this issue.
Based on the state’s College and Career Indicator (CCI) metrics, 52 percent of high school graduates are prepared for college or career, and 14 percent are “approaching prepared.”
Judging by test scores, roughly one in five students meet statewide standards for college readiness, according to PPIC. “Readiness varies across student groups. About 15 percent of low-income students are college ready, compared to 31 percent of students who are not low income,” PPIC states. “Looking at race and ethnicity, 51 percent of Asian and 32 percent of white students are college ready, while rates are 13 percent for Latino students and 9 percent for Black students.”
Since 2018, the state has observed increasing completion of A-G requirements and access to the courses. About half of high school graduates complete the A-G sequence, which is required for admission to a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) school.
Though a third of high schoolers participate in dual enrollment coursework to earn college credits, just 12 percent are considered college ready per the CCI.
For the Class of 2023, 72 percent of eligible graduates enrolled in college within 12 months.
“Across racial and ethnic groups, the share going to college is highest among Asian Americans (95 percent). About 77 percent of white students enroll, and college-going rates for both Black and Latino students are 65 percent,” according to PPIC. “Female students (77 percent) are much more likely to go to college than male students (66 percent). Enrollment rates are below average for low-income (64 percent) and English learner students (48 percent). Over 80 percent of graduates from Orange County and the Bay Area enroll in college, compared to about 62 percent of students from the Inland Empire and San Joaquin Valley.”
Community college continues to be an important point of entry to higher education and transfer students make up large shares of students enrolled at UC and CSU institutions. Most new students at UC and CSU campuses are recent graduates of the state’s TK-12 public schools.
The briefs detail efforts to address readiness and access and increasing coordination between TK-12 and higher education systems to create pathways to, and awareness of, higher education.
