Larry Gordon
Larry Gordon was a higher education writer at the Los Angeles Times, where he covered colleges and universities in California and nationwide. He won the first place award for education reporting in 2014 from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Larry previously was a reporter and editor at the Bergen Record in his home state New Jersey. He was a mid-career Fulbright Fellow, teaching journalism at the American University in Bulgaria. He earned a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s at Georgetown University. He is co-author of the hiking guide “Stairway Walks in Los Angeles.” He is based in Los Angeles.
All articles by Larry Gordon
California urged to improve college access for young men of color
The high school graduation and college attendance rates for black, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islander young men is well below that of whites and Asians. A new study by the Education Trust-West urges barriers be lifted and more support offered for those minority male students.
Larry Gordon
June 14, 2017
California middle class families may still get scholarship help
The Legislature wants to maintain financial aid for UC and CSU students from families earning between $80,000 and $150,000 a year. But that conflicts with Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to phase out the program.
Larry Gordon
June 13, 2017
Teachers' training needs improvement so students benefit, new report says
The Learning Policy Institute recommends teachers' professional development programs focus tightly on classroom subjects, allow for collaboration and provide lots of coaching.
Larry Gordon
June 6, 2017
California colleges welcome revived federal Pell grants for summer school
To the happy surprise of some officials, thousands of California students may benefit from the expansion of federal Pell grants into summer sessions. The extra funding is expected to help speed up the time to graduation for low-income students.
Larry Gordon
May 22, 2017
UC adopts limits on undergraduates from outside state, but allows some growth
The new policy is a compromise that allows five campuses to grow their out-of-state undergraduates to 18 percent, while freezing such enrollment at the four campuses already above that level. One regent said UC was "building a wall" around the university.
Larry Gordon
May 18, 2017
Budget plan withholds $50 million from UC pending audit compliance and fully funds Cal Grants at private colleges
The governor's May budget revision reverses his plan to reduce Cal Grants used at private colleges. He enters the controversy over a critical audit of UC by withholding $50 million until the university system shows that it better controls spending and improves management.
Larry Gordon
May 11, 2017
CSU officials: Remedial education reform will change lives and not 'dumb down' classes
With nearly 40 percent of incoming freshmen needing remediation in English or math, CSU is planning ways to make sure those students earn college credit from the start. Many details remain to be figured out, officials said.
Larry Gordon
May 9, 2017
Free Khan Academy SAT tutorials boost scores, study finds
The free courses increased scores an average of 115 points from earlier and preliminary scores.
Larry Gordon
May 8, 2017
Black and Latino parents worried about funding disparities in schools, poll finds
Parents said they were most concerned about funding, racism and teacher quality affecting black and Latino students. Meanwhile, 89 percent of black parents and 81 percent of Latinos wanted their children to be challenged more in school.
Larry Gordon
May 3, 2017
Report praises UC for enrolling low-income students; criticizes other elite universities
The study contends that Pell grant students would have a better chance at graduating if they started at four-year, elite colleges. It says that affluent campuses can easily afford to enroll more.
Larry Gordon
May 1, 2017
Financial aid is key to the final and often tough choice of colleges
Students from low-income and immigrant families may face particularly difficult decisions in weighing colleges' financial aid offers. Some families are very resistant to loans.
Larry Gordon
April 30, 2017
Panel endorses bill aimed at reducing number of college students in remedial classes
Assembly Higher Education committee unanimously passes the bill, which advocates say will improve graduation rates. If approved by the full Legislature and governor, the measure would require community colleges to place students in credit classes unless there is a high probability of failure.
Larry Gordon
April 19, 2017
Graduation and dropout rates: Look up California districts and high schools
The numbers vary among ethnic groups, school districts and individual high schools.
Larry Gordon
April 18, 2017
California's high school graduation rate improves for 7th straight year, but ethnic gaps remain
State statistics show that 83.2 percent of students who entered high school in 2012-13 had graduated by 2016. But gaps as large as 20 percentage points separate some ethnic groups.
Larry Gordon
April 11, 2017
California 'student success' initiative slow to increase community college completion rates
Officials say the reforms are kicking in even if student completion rates have not improved significantly yet; they expect progress soon. Student leaders say the real problems are economic, not in advising students about majors.