Critical Conditions for Equity and Diversity
Title: Critical Conditions for Equity and Diversity in College Access: Informing Policy and Monitoring Results
Author: Jeannie Oakes
Date: February 2003
Californians are determined to open the doors to college for California students from diverse schools and communities. For this to happen, educators and policymakers need information that goes far deeper into California’s education system than what is currently available—test scores, API rankings, and rates of CSU and UC eligibility. Although these indicators convey important information about the outcomes of K-12 schooling, including inequities in college preparation, they provide no clues about why particular students, schools, and communities achieve poorly. Neither can they guide policymakers or educators as they seek programs and
policies that will improve the results.
To help policymakers and educators monitor the state’s progress toward reducing disparities in achievement and college access, UC ACCORD is developing and reporting annually on key education indicators, including status indicators and leading indicators.
