Students were determined to be ready for college if they had taken the high school courses required to be admitted to either the California State University system or the University of California system.
The starkest gaps between black and white students was in San Mateo and Marin counties, where the difference was 47 percent and 42 percent, according to the most recent data available from the Bay Area Equity Atlas, a repository of data focused on quantifying racial and economic inequality in the region.
Here’s how the counties rank by the percentage of blacks who are ready for college in California.1. Napa County — 58%2. Santa Clara County — 39%3. San Francisco — 35%4. Alameda County — 33%5. Contra Costa County — 30%6. Solano County — 26%7. Sonoma County — 25%8. Marin County — 22%9. San Mateo County — 20%[bar color=”Accent-Color” title=”1. Napa County” percent=”58″][bar color=”Extra-Color-1″ title=”2. Santa Clara County” percent=”39″][bar color=”Accent-Color” title=”3. San Francisco” percent=”35″][bar color=”Extra-Color-1″ title=”4. Alameda County” percent=”33″][bar color=”Accent-Color” title=”5. Contra Costa County” percent=”30″][bar color=”Extra-Color-1″ title=”6. Solano County” percent=”26″][bar color=”Accent-Color” title=”7. Sonoma County” percent=”25″][bar color=”Extra-Color-1″ title=”8. Marin County” percent=”22″][bar color=”Accent-Color” title=”9. San Mateo County” percent=”20″]While Napa County had the highest percentage of black students ready for college. the county has a very low number of black students, skewing the percentage.
Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, said following a recent panel with other educators, “Closing the achievement gap has been a major challenge.”
He said educators must develop strong relationships with students to make them “feel like someone cares.”
Source: Bay Area Equity Atlas; California Department of Education