Project+Overview

 Ø The grant program, called **Core to College: Preparing Students for College Readiness and Success,** aims to foster long-term collaborations between state higher education and K-12 entities that will improve student college readiness and increase rates of enrollment and graduation, using the [|Common Core State Standards] (CCSS) and assessments to establish a statewide common definition of college readiness to signal a student’s preparedness for credit-bearing college courses. Ø Washington is one of twelve states in the project (Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee are the others). Ø The project steering committee reflects a partnership among the major Washington education agencies: State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB), Council of Presidents, and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The Project Alignment Director is Bill Moore , Policy Associate, Teaching and Learning, SBCTC. Ø Funding for Core to College is provided by the [|Lumina Foundation] , the [|William and Flora Hewlett Foundation]  and the [|Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation] . The partners developed Core to College with the assistance of [|Education First Consulting] , which will provide continuing project management. [|Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors] , the program’s fiscal sponsor, is responsible for grant decisions and all aspects of ongoing grant administration. For more information on Core to College, please click [|here] .
 * **__Project Overview __**

Ø Increase understanding and acceptance of CCSS across Washington higher education institutions, particularly in math and English departments Ø Develop statewide agreement on the use of the CCSS in defining Washington college-readiness standards and the role of the [|SMARTER Balanced] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> assessment instrument in assessing that readiness Ø <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Explore use of CCSS in pre-college math programs in Washington higher education through pilot collaborative (high school and college) curricular projects
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Project Outcomes __**

Ø <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Build faculty ownership and understanding of the CCSS as meaningful and useful college-readiness standards by a close review and comparison of the existing Washington college readiness standards in math and English Language Arts and their corresponding new CCSS standards Ø <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Examine items from Smarter Balanced with this group of teachers and faculty to assess its utility for higher education as an indicator of college-readiness and placement Ø <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Support local or regional college/school district partnerships to improve high school to college transitions through targeted plans incorporating CCSS and/or the Smarter Balanced assessment Ø <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Support at least two local/regional partnerships to jointly develop math curricular resources—aligned to the CCSS—that can be used in both high school and college pre-college math courses || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;">**YEAR 2 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS:**
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Project Activities __**

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;">**PARTNERSHIP LEAD CONTACTS:**

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;">**CORE TO COLLEGE NATIONAL GATHERINGS:** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;">