This dissertation explores California's current A-G requirements and investigates whether or not students are more college ready now than they were in previous years. This study also investigates whether or not students have adequate opportunities to access the rigorous coursework in an urban high school largely populated by minority students. The purpose of this study was to explore if students are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions that may lead to fulfillment of the requirements and for eligibility into either the California State University or University of California college system. This study focused on student college readiness from 1994-2012 to see if California was graduating students from high school that were college ready through exploring course taking patterns, reviewing student characteristic data, and looking at college readiness as defined by the number of students eligible to attend a California State University or University of California school. Findings from this study indicate that while there have been improvements in the overall college readiness of students the gains are slight. The findings also show that African American students are falling behind Caucasian students with regard to college readiness. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]