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AB 705

About AB 705

For many years, community colleges have required students to prove, through standardized placement assessments, they have what it takes to perform at transfer-level English and math courses. Now, students have the right to choose their own path using evidence that better reflects their experiences and strengths. Pursuant to Education Code section 78213, students have the right to access transfer-level coursework in English, mathematics (or quantitative reasoning), and credit English as a Second Language. Allan Hancock College’s placement process is compliant with AB 705, which requires California Community Colleges to maximize the probability that a student who is seeking a degree/transfer will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within one year and English as a Second Language (ESL) within three years. Allan Hancock College will no longer use testing to determine placement. Instead, assessment will be based on multiple measures including high school data (i.e., GPA, course grades, advanced coursework), through transcripts indicating courses taken at another accredited institution, and/or through our new guided self-placement tool.

Below is a list of research and resources related to AB 705 statewide and local AHC resources about how are students are doing in English and math. 

AB 705 FAQs

Dashboards and Resources

Equity Placement

EQUITY PLACEMENT TOOLKIT

AB 705 requires Equitable Placement to help students enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within a year, with the exception of ESL students, who have a three-year time frame.

Student Success

STUDENT SUCCESS METRICS

Milestones and accomplishments that align with Vision for Success and Student Centered Funding Formula.

Transfer Level

TRANSFER LEVEL GATEWAY COMPLETION DASHBOARD

Provides completion rates of transfer-level English, math, and credit ESL starting from students’ first course enrollment in the discipline.

Dashboard PDF

2020-21 Statewide English Throughput

2020-21 Statewide Math Throughput

Cohort Data

COHORT DATA

Select a cohort (all first-time or students from a particular high school) to see English and math completion rates in first term and first academic year. 

TRANSFER MATH/ENGLISH THROUGHPUT

Guided Pathways Data

GUIDED PATHWAYS DATA

Data relevant to support guided pathways

AB 705 State and National Reports

 

TITLE DESCRIPTION DATE

Transition in Math from High School to Community College Before and After AB 705

This brief compares high school to community college transitions in California in fall 2016, before AB 7053
came into effect in 2018 and post-implementation in fall 2019. Data included in this analysis were obtained from the Cal-PASS4
data system using Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) data file methodology.5
Data were limited to students with four years of high school data. To determine the highest level of high school math successfully completed by these students, the analysis included a student’s last high school math course completed with a grade of C- or better.

January 2022

 

Community College Math in California’s New Era of Student Access Report

Brief

Technical Appendix

 

California’s community colleges first began implementing Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705) in fall 2019, making
major reforms to assess and place students away from prerequisite remediation courses for English and math
and into transfer-level courses. In this report, we examine the progress colleges and students have made around transfer-level math courses through fall 2020.

December 2021

Equitable Placement and Completion: English and Math Validation of Practices and Improvement Plans

As we continue to work toward fulfillment of the Vision for Success and the diversity, equity, and inclusion at the heart of  the Call to Action, effective implementation of  Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705) is essential and remains a primary priority of the Board of Governors and all California Community Colleges. The California Community College system has reached a major milestone in our implementation and evaluation of AB 705, which is detailed in this memo.

November 2021
Equitable Placement and Completion Goal: Maximize Student Success 2021-2022
Invalid Placement Practices Widespread in CA Community Colleges Reports from 114 Community Colleges Show that Enrolling Students in Remedial Courses Does Not Meet the Standards of California’s Remediation Reform Law AB 705 October 2021
Emerging Practices and Resources to Support ESL Placement Throughput Webinar October 2021
AB 705 Update on Student Outcomes Review of Student Outcomes for the 2020-21 Academic Year September 2021

Maximizing Math Throughput of Students Who Did Not Complete Algebra 2 in High School

PowerPoint Presentation

In this paper we investigate how the one-year math throughput rate of community college students varies according to the highest level of math completed in high school, with a particular focus on the implications of successfully completing Algebra 2 while in high school. August 2021
Mapping Equitable Access to Math at California's Community Colleges This post is part of a series examining how educational opportunities and outcomes differ across California. May 2021
A Qualitative Exploration of AB 705 Webinar February 2021
Enrollment and Success in Transfer-Level English and Math in the California Community Colleges System The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) conducted a
statewide analysis of student outcomes from fall 2015 to fall 2019. The areas of inquiry in this report include enrollment in transfer-level English and math courses and success in these courses, both as a proportion of those who enroll in them and as a proportion of the general math- and English-course-taking population overall.
January 2021
A New Era of Student Access At California's Community Colleges This report examines how AB 705 transformed student access, outcomes, and racial equity in fall 2019, the deadline for implementation. November 2020
Corequisites Supports MMAP Webinar April 2020
Evaluating AB 705 MMAP Webinar April 2020

 

AHC AB 705 Reports and Presentations

TITLE DESCRIPTION DATE
English and Math Equitable Placement Infographic Report November 2021
English and Math Historical Timeline Report November 2021
AB 1805 Report Report June 2021
AB 705 High School Roundtable Presentation Presentation by Erica Biely Spring 2021
AB 705 Math Presentation Presentation by Erica Biely Spring 2021
Final AB 705 Validation Template Report December 2020
AB 705 English Presentation Presentation by Erica Biely Fall 2020
AB 705 Presentation Presentation by Erica Biely Fall 2020

Best Practices

TITLE DESCRIPTION DATE

Math Pathways: The Way Forward

This report looks at lessons learned from research and innovation in math instruction to make recommendations that can help effectively scale new, more effective math pathways at the federal, state, district, and institution levels.

June 2022

Bright Spots - Colleges Doing Math Right

Math Best Practices

February 2022

The Role of Higher Education in High School Math Reform

A range of schools and organizations are in the process of rethinking high school
math course sequences, content, and instruction. This reconsideration of secondary
math is the result of widespread concern that many students, especially those who
are traditionally underserved by the U.S. education system, encounter math as an
obstacle rather than an opportunity to learn and meet their education goals.

February 2022

Learning Mindsets Matter for Students in Corequisite Courses

The current project investigates how learning mindsets – students’ beliefs and perceptions about learning – impact academic outcomes, particularly among students enrolled in corequisite courses.

January 2022

Assessing the Effect of Corequisite English Instruction Using a Randomized Controlled Trial

This is the first study to provide experimental evidence of the impact of corequisite remediation for students underprepared in reading and writing.

2022

Constructing Corequisites: How Community Colleges Structure Corequisite Math Coursework and the Implications for Student Success

Results illustrate:
(a) how colleges structured corequisite courses in response to the statewide mandate and (b) how corequisite coursework characteristics predicted student outcomes. Our results suggest that some corequisite coursework elements—including mixed ability college-level classes, higher credits for the developmental education (dev-ed) corequisite support course, and using the same instructor across both the college-level and dev-ed course—improve students’ probability of passing college-level math,
though these course design elements do not appear to predict long-term outcomes like persistence in college.

2022

Student Success & Equity in Math

An interview with Michael Wangler, veteran community college educator and former dean at Citrus College where transformational change in math resulted in positive student outcomes. 

Featured on Continuous Learning Institute

December 2021

An analysis of Co-requisite Instructional Strategies

This technical brief will present the results of a detailed analysis of these approaches, making
clear which combinations of strategies prove most and least beneficial in co-requisite English
and in mathematics.

2021

No Room for Doubt: Moving Corequisite Support from Idea to Imperative

Every student enrolled in a development
education program that is not built with the intention of removing barriers to success is one student too many. It’s on us as institutional leaders to create the conditions that lead to early academic momentum - and lay the foundation for college and career
success.

2021

No Room for Doubt: Moving Corequisite Support from Idea to Imperative Checklist

This action checklist is the result of that work and offers guidance for leaders implementing the corequisite model for the
first time or those who are looking to deepen their practices to address challenges that stand in the way.

2021

Building Equity-Mindedness in Math Faculty

IN 2017, CUE EMBARKED ON a two-year project that
involved six Colorado community colleges and over
27 math faculty. Funded by the Teagle Foundation,
CUE set out to see how instructors might foster
equity-mindedness via race-conscious inquiry.

2020

Community College Students Assessed as Needing Mathematics Remediation: Seven-Year Impacts of Corequisite Remediation with Statistics

Corequisite remediation, which places students directly into college-level work with
additional academic support, has emerged as a robust alternative to stand-alone,
prerequisite, developmental education.

2020

Withstanding the Backlash

Conceptualizing and Preparing for Coercive Reactions to Placement Reform and Corequisite Support Models in California

2020

A Changing Paradigm in High School Mathematics

In this paper, we explore existing approaches to high school mathematics curricula as well as new developments in the field.

November 2020

Improving Developmental and College-Level Mathematics: Prominent Reforms and the Need to Address Equity

Informed by relevant research literature, this paper argues that the majority of reforms to developmental math education seek to remedy general barriers to student progress but are not typically designed to address equity gaps and, perhaps unsurprisingly, do little to reduce them.

November 2020

Creating More Inclusive Learning Environments in Mathematics

Insights from research for practice from the
Mindset Scholars Network’s Inclusive Mathematics Environments Early Career Fellowship

May 2020

Improving Equity Through Corequisite Support

This report highlights key findings from a multi-year, mixed-methods research study of the corequisite model at Houston Community College (HCC), one of the nation’s largest and most racially/ethnically diverse community college systems. Our goal was to better understand the effect of corequisite coursework – the benefits and potential areas for improvement – on the academic success of a student body that is predominately Black and Latinx.

2019-2020

The Mathematics of Opportunity

Rethinking the Role of Math in
Educational Equity

November 2018

Leading the Way: Cuyamaca College Transforms Math Remediation

“The data is clear that traditional placement and remediation strategies are failing
the vast majority of California community college students. Through courageous
conversations and leadership, Cuyamaca College transformed a challenging
problem into meaningful action. The early results from this model provide a strong
endorsement for implementing these and similar reforms across the system.” Eloy Ortiz Oakley

September 2017

Summer coursework and completing college

This paper examines one long-standing feature of college life – summer school – that is not usually viewed by policy makers and education administrators in terms of retention and degree completion.

June 2013

Just Equations Math Facts Sheet

The Mathematics of Opportunity:
New Directions for Math in Educational Equity

 

Corequisite Math Toolkit

Every student deserves a strong start in their first year of college. This toolkit is part of a SSTF three-part series, providing resources to assist postsecondary leaders design and implement reform strategies that support equitable outcomes for students who are
marginalized.

 

Chancellor's Office Memorandums

TITLE DESCRIPTION DATE

Equitable Placement & Completion

 

Template

Improvement Plan Template for Reference

Equitable Placement and Completion: English and Math Validation of Practices and Improvement Plans


Improvement Plan Template

November 2021

Equitable Placement Required

Equitable Placement: Required AB 1805 Reporting May 2021

MIS Data Submission

MIS Data Submission March 2021