Students Improve, Crowd Colleges : Education: More high school graduates are eligible for the UC or Cal State systems. But the recession makes it difficult for the campuses to absorb them.

Although California high school students are getting higher grades, doing better on statewide and national tests and qualifying in record numbers for the state’s two public university systems, their chances of attending one of these campuses may be reduced because of the state’s depressed economy.

That conclusion has been drawn by many who have studied the California Postsecondary Education Commission’s recent findings that the proportion of high school graduates who are eligible for the University of California and California State University systems has risen significantly.

“This is good news for higher education in California,” said commission Director Warren Fox. “It shows better preparation for all students, in all racial and ethnic groups. It shows sound educational progress. The problem is, this means more students are college-eligible at a time when California finds it difficult to support the students we’ve got.”

Jeanne Ludwig, who directed the study, said: “This is extremely good news, in terms of student preparation, but it’s extremely sad that it happens at such a dire financial time.”

The survey, based on 13,641 transcripts from 1,124 public high schools, found that between 1986 and 1990 the proportion of high school students whose grades and test scores made them eligible for admission to the nine-campus UC system rose from 14.1% to 18.8%.

In the same period, the proportion of students eligible for one of the 20 Cal State campuses climbed from 27.5% to 34.6%.

California’s master plan for higher education calls for UC to accept the top 12.5% of the state’s public high school graduates and Cal State is supposed to take the top one-third.

The study found that the average high school grade-point average increased from 2.60 to 2.68, between 1986 and 1990. Some of that could have been because of “grade inflation”--a gradual tendency for grades to drift upward over a period of years that some educational researchers have found.

But Ludwig said that was not likely the full explanation because students also scored better on the California Assessment Program and the national Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“It does seem that students are getting on track earlier and are doing better in their course work,” she said.

Although gains were made by all major racial groups that were studied--Asian-American, African-American, Latino and Anglo--the Asian-American gains were the greatest.

In 1990, 61.5% of all Asian-American high school students were eligible for Cal State, compared to 38.2% of Anglo students, 18.6% of African-Americans and 17.3% of Latinos.

A whopping 40.4% of Asian-American students were eligible for UC, compared to 20.5% for Anglos, 7.5% for African-Americans and 6.8% for Latinos.

The eligibility rates varied widely by area. In Orange County, 26.51% of all high school students were eligible for UC and 43.1% for Cal State, while in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, 10.8% were eligible for UC, 25.1% for Cal State.

Ludwig speculated that this is because of differing cultural and college-going traditions in different parts of the state. Children from middle- and upper-class families--often college graduates themselves--tend to go to college, while the children of blue-collar workers and agricultural workers attend college in smaller numbers.

Supporters of a 10th UC campus, tentatively planned for the San Joaquin Valley, found support for their cause in the numbers because only 15.2% of students in the south-central valley, and 11% in the north-central valley, were eligible for UC.

If there is a UC campus in the Central Valley, educators reason, there would be more incentive for high school students in that area to take the courses and tests necessary to qualify for the university.

In another way, the figures are potentially troubling to UC. If the UC-eligible pool is 18.8%, as the study says, that is one-third higher than the master plan goal and the university probably will be forced to revise its entrance requirements to reduce the number of eligible students.

UC administrators have been trying to fend off legislative efforts to divert more first- and second-year students from UC campuses to local community colleges.

In general, Ludwig said, the study showed that “the better students are getting a lot better, the middle students are doing a little better and the worst students are doing a little less worse.”

Interestingly, the California Postsecondary Education Commission report was released during the same week State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig was indicted by a state grand jury on charges of conflict of interest and misuse of state funds. Many educators credit the educational reforms introduced by Honig over the last decade for the overall student improvement.

“One of the goals of the whole reform movement has been to get kids into college in larger numbers,” Honig said in an interview. “Tougher courses, stricter high school graduation requirements--it’s all paying off.”

Honig noted that the increases in eligibility came about despite the fact that both higher education systems, especially Cal State, toughened their entrance requirements during the period under study.

“I guess we’re causing trouble” for both UC and Cal State, Honig said, by producing more qualified high school graduates than the financially strapped higher education systems can absorb.

But, he said, “our job is to make them do better and we’re not going to stop.”

The superintendent said new approaches to educating minority high school students should swell the ranks of the college-eligible by the time the Postsecondary Education Commission does a similar study.

He cited studies predicting that more than half of the new jobs at the beginning of the next century will require a college degree.

Honig suggested that the state might want to open more community college campuses (there already are more than 100), or improve the quality of undergraduate education so that it does not take students so long to complete their degree work or place greater emphasis on teaching and less on research.

“If society wants to prosper, it’s going to have to invest in education--both higher and lower,” he said.

Ready for College

California high school students are getting better grades and thus qualifying in record numbers for the University of California and California State University systems, but the number of spaces available is limited by the state’s depressed economy. Here is a look at some of the eligibility pools, by region and ethnicity/race:

Calstate Universities

% of high school graduates eligible by region in 1990.

Orange County: 43.1%

San Diego/Imperial: 34.9%

Statewide Average: 34.6%

Los Angeles County: 33.7%

Riverside/San Bernardino: 25.1%

Central Coast *: 32.9%

* Includes Ventura

Following are the eligible public high school graduates by race/ethnicity, over a 7-year period.

Asian

1983: 49.0%

1986: 50.0%

1990: 61.5%

Black

1983: 10.1%

1986: 10.8%

1990: 18.6%

Latino

1983: 15.3%

1986: 13.3%

1990: 17.3%

Anglo

1983: 33.5%

1986: 31.6%

1990: 38.2%

University of California

% of high school graduates eligible by region in 1990.

Orange County: 26.5%

San Diego/Imperial: 19.6%

Statewide average: 18.8%

Los Angeles County: 17.8%

Riverside/San Bernardino: 10.8%

Central Coast *: 19.2%

* includes Ventura

Following are the eligible public high school graduates by race/ethnicity, over a 7-year period.

Asian

1983: 26.0%

1986: 32.8%

1990: 40.4%

Black

1983: 3.6%

1986: 4.5%

1990: 7.5%

Latino

1983: 4.9%

1986: 5.0%

1990: 6.8%

Anglo

1983: 15.5%

1986: 15.8%

1990: 20.5%