As more and more states adopt college and career ready standards, K-12 and higher education collaboration will no longer be a choice, it will be a necessity. In this document we provide a practical, six-step guide for states seeking to communicate with and engage higher education stakeholders in the important work of Common Core implementation and other college- and career-ready initiatives. The resources and case studies featured here speak specifically to K-12 and higher education alignment around a common definition of college and career readiness and using college-ready assessments as one component of the decision to place students into entry-level credit-bearing college courses.

This paper is an outgrowth of our work with the Core to College Network – 12 states working on aligning their K-12 and college education policies to prepare for the CCSS and forthcoming assessments.