More than three-quarters of California high school juniors tested last spring could not read or write well enough for college-level work. Students fared much better in math; 55 percent of the juniors met the college math standard.

The results, released Wednesday, are the first from a unique state testing partnership between the California State University system and the California Department of Education to gauge whether high-school juniors are ready for college. The goal of the test, which is voluntary, is to warn students who aren't prepared in math and language arts so they can use their senior year to catch up.

It is the first time in the nation that a state's public schools and a university system have worked together to coordinate and test their expectations for high-school graduates, said David Spence, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for the CSU system.

California has set tough standards for high-school students to master, and they are in line with what the CSU expects, Spence said. ``It's one thing to have standards,'' he added, but it's more challenging to ensure those standards are being emphasized in the classrooms.

Part of the readiness scores come from several dozen questions within the California Standards Test, which is given to all high-school juniors in the state. There also are supplemental questions, which are voluntary, that cover math, language and writing skills. Nearly 40 percent of California's 385,000 high school juniors took the supplemental English test and 30 percent the math.

Some 55 percent of the students tested proficient in math. In language, though, only 22 percent met the proficiency standard, and the main problems were reading with comprehension and writing analytically. Students who pass are exempted from having to take CSU placement tests when they enroll at a CSU campus.

Scores for individual students have been sent to school districts, and schools should be getting them to students and parents soon. The state released only overall results of the testing Wednesday; results by county, district and school will be posted on a CSU Web site next week.

The majority of CSU entering freshmen discover they need to take remedial classes in English or math after they take the university's placement tests. It is often a shock, Spence said, because the average high-school grade-point average for those students who need remedial education is a solid B.

``The scores reveal what I've said all along,'' said state schools chief Jack O'Connell. ``We must make high school more rigorous if we want students to be prepared.'' He said the new testing program would smooth the way between high school and college.

CSU has set as a goal that 90 percent of its entering students will be proficient in English and math by 2007. But the reality is that 58 percent of freshman last year needed remedial help in English, math or both. CSU spends about $30 million a year providing students with remediation, Spence said.

CSU trustee Roberta Achtenberg said she expects to see proficiency rates rise among freshman as the result of the early assessment.

``We need to drive down the number of incoming freshmen who require remediation,'' she said. With more students entering the university academically ready, ``we will improve graduation rates and shorten the time to a degree, which is the goal.''

CSU is offering help for high school students who don't meet the standards and their teachers. A 12th-grade reading and writing course will be available to high schools next fall, training for high school teachers will be offered, and CSU has developed Web-based writing and math diagnostic programs and an online math tutorial.

Some school districts already have taken steps to address students' problems.

``The English curriculum has been very literature based,'' said Art Darin, chief academic officer for San Jose's East Side Union High School District. His district is requiring more writing, not just in English classes but across the curriculum.

``If students have to pass a college placement exam by writing a five-page essay,'' Darin said, ``then we should be preparing them for that rigor.''