By The Numbers: New Cradle to Career Data Quantifies Racial and Gender based Educational Inequities

This past April, the California Cradle to Career Data System (C2C) unveiled its first data story, focusing on collegiate pathways for California’s high school students. This is the first data story—or composite data visualization—developed by the state’s longitudinal data system since its inception in 2019, and it already provides advocates with valuable data and a clear design that makes this information more accessible to the public. After reviewing the data, our research team synthesized the broader story to highlight key takeaways for advocates to consider.

Black and Latinx Californians face a less streamlined collegiate pathway

C2C uses data from the high school graduating class of 2015 to provide an eight-year snapshot of student outcomes, and it’s hard to ignore the glaring inequities that emerge when we focus on pathways to and through college. Comparing initial college enrollment with eight-year outcomes, it’s clear that California colleges struggle to support Black and Latinx students in completing their degrees. The data show that nearly half of Black and Latinx high school graduates completed a community college certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree within eight years of graduation. This underscores advocates’ longstanding concerns that, beyond barriers to accessing higher education, navigating and completing collegiate programs remains a significant hurdle for California’s most impacted students.

Transferring from a California Community College adds two years to bachelor’s degree attainment

Despite the common framing of associate degrees as “two-year degrees,” the data show that the pathway for transfer students remains significantly longer compared to their non-transfer peers. The median timeline for transfer students stretches associate degree completion to three years, with bachelor’s completion taking an additional three years. This trend persists across all racial and ethnic groups, highlighting a crucial bottleneck in the higher education pipeline. The equity implications are even greater considering that Black and Latinx students make up a majority of California Community College enrollments, placing them at disproportionate risk of extended degree completion timelines.

The pay gap persists for women, Black, and Latinx bachelor’s degree holders

Comparing pay rates four years post-graduation for bachelor’s degree holders by race/ethnicity and gender highlights persistent pay gaps. In addition to the over $19,000 gender pay gap affecting women bachelor’s degree holders, there remains a significant racial pay gap impacting Black and Latinx graduates. These equity gaps, compounded by unsupported degree pathways and extended completion timelines, contribute to a higher education system that continues to fall short of enabling success for Black and Latinx students.

Now What?

At the Lab, we are grateful to California’s Cradle to Career Data System for making longitudinal data stories like this accessible to the public. These data are crucial for understanding the long-term impacts of K-16 education policy changes and empower advocates and community members to ensure the education pipeline provides a stable, dependable, and prosperous future for all of California’s students.

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Sources

California Cradle-to-Career Data System (2025). Student Pathways Data Story (Version number 1). c2c.ca.gov/data-stories/pathways-to-college-in-california/