Selection Criteria

Phase 1: Registration, Submission, and Selection

Each criterion is worth up to 25 points (100 pts. max.).

IMPACT. The extent to which the project is: (a) increasing students’ opportunities and experiences to better prepare them for careers aligned with CHIPS; (b) expanding advising, training, and placement strategies into those careers; and (c) supporting teachers in building out CTE programs.
STUDENTS. The extent to which the proposed activities will involve a broad cross-section of students, including an emphasis on serving students from special populations.
PARTNERSHIPS. The extent to which the action plan includes cross-disciplinary partnerships, written commitments from relevant partners, and at least one CTE program.
DATA. The extent to which the action plan includes baseline project data, and it utilizes quality metrics-framework and data-collection methods.

Subject matter experts will serve as judges to score submissions.

Confirm eligibility. The review team will pre-screen each submission to ensure it meets the eligibility requirements, i.e., Bullet (1) or (2).
Evaluate submissions. Judges will score each eligible submission using Phase 1 Selection Criteria.
Select semi-finalists. The review team will use the top-scoring submissions to select up to 50 semi-finalists to participate in Phase 2. Publicly available data from the Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) may be used to ensure a diverse pool of challenge participants.

Each criterion is worth up to 25 points (100 pts. max.).

IMPACT. The extent to which the project is: (a) increasing students’ opportunities and experiences to better prepare them for careers aligned with CHIPS; (b) expanding advising, training, and placement strategies into those careers; and (c) supporting teachers in building out CTE programs.
STUDENTS. The extent to which the project involves a broad cross-section of students, including an emphasis on serving students from special populations.
PARTNERSHIPS. The extent to which the project includes cross-disciplinary partnerships, written commitments from relevant partners, and at least one CTE program.
DATA. The extent to which the baseline project data has improved, and the metrics-framework and data-collection methods are of high quality.

Subject matter experts will serve as judges to score submissions.

Evaluate submissions. Judges will score each eligible submission using Phase 2 Selection Criteria.
Select finalists. The review team will use the top-scoring submissions to select up to 10 finalists to participate in Phase 3.

Each criterion is worth up to 25 points (100 pts. max.).

IMPACT. The extent to which the project: (a) increased students’ opportunities and experiences to better prepare them for careers aligned with CHIPS; (b) expanded advising, training, and placement strategies into those careers; and (c) supported teachers in building out CTE programs.
STUDENTS. The extent to which the project involved a broad cross-section of students, including an emphasis on serving students from special populations.
PARTNERSHIPS. The extent to which the project included cross-disciplinary partnerships, written commitments from relevant partners, and at least one CTE program.
DATA. The extent to which the project included metrics framework, data collection methods, and comprehensive project data.

Subject matter experts will serve as judges to score submissions.

Evaluate submissions. Judges will score each eligible submission using Phase 3 Selection Criteria. Phase 3 submission must receive a minimum score of 50 points to be eligible for a cash prize.
Award cash prizes. The Phase 3 submission scores will be ordered numerically, from highest to lowest score, to determine ranking and tier category.