In this article, the authors tell the story of how the Garden Grove Unified School District in California is taking on the challenge of preparing all students for college and skilled careers. Though every student may not plan to attend college, the district has decided that the opportunities made available to students should not depend solely on the foresight of teenagers or the prejudgments of adults. The curriculum that gives each student the ability to succeed in college, should he or she choose to attend, also provides the key that unlocks the door to skilled careers for the non-college-bound. Though many definitions of "college and career readiness" are possible, Garden Grove's operational definition is that students are deemed "ready" if they complete California's full "A-G" college-readiness course sequence and demonstrate mastery of the content of each course through an end-of-course exam. Checking for students' learning of course content is important because Garden Grove wishes to guarantee to students, parents, colleges, and employers that course labels accurately advertise what the student has learned. (Contains 17 endnotes.)