Bellevue College has received a $150,000 grant from College Spark Washington to support college readiness and retention for low-income students.

Research shows that one out of five low-income students is prepared for college level work compared with over half of middle and upper-income students. And even when a low-income student gets into college, he or she is seven times less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than a more affluent peer.

As one of 11 grantees in the state, Bellevue College must measure results using at least one of the four indicators of future college success:

• Increasing the number of students that take and pass Algebra by the eighth grade;
• Decreasing the number of middle school students that trigger two of three early warning indicators: five or more absences per semester; course failure; suspension or expulsion.
• Decreasing the number of students that require development education in college; and
• Increasing the number of students that earn their first college-level credit in English or math.