Report Faults Calif. on College Preparation

State sends 23 percent of high school seniors to four-year colleges.

California students face major roadblocks en route to college, according to a report, which found the Golden State sends a smaller proportion of high school seniors—23 percent—to four-year colleges than any other state but Mississippi.

The report, released last week by the Institute for Democracy Education and Access, at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California’s All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity, analyzes public data on the state’s college-preparatory infrastructure.

It found that, compared with their peers nationally, California students are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to college...