Majority of Acalanes District High School Grads Take Required College Courses

A majority of Acalanes Union School District high school graduates have been taking the courses required to be accepted into state colleges and universities in California.

Statistics compiled by Ed Data show that in four of the five years from the 2006-2007 school year to the 2010-11 school year between 66 and 73 percent of Acalanes Union high school graduates took the required courses.

In 2009-2010, the percentage was listed as 40 percent. Patch has contacted Acalanes district officials for an explanation of what appears to be a statistical quirk or error. We'll update the story when we hear back.

The average for Contra Costa County school districts for those five years was between 36 and 44 percent.

The courses are broken into seven categories. They’re called A-G courses simply because the university systems gave them those letter equivalents to help organize them better. They are:

A) History/social science (two years)

B) English (four years)

C) Mathematics (three years)

D) Laboratory sciences (two years)

E) Foreign language (two years)

F) Visual and performing arts (one year)

G) College prepartory elective (one year)

The college readiness courses aren’t without their controversy.

During the past decade, some school districts, including Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, have added the college preparedness courses to their graduation requirements, according to an article in the Contra Costa Times.

Educators say the new requirement will help more students prepare for college. However, critics point out the requirements might make it more difficult for struggling students to graduate from high school.