re: Entire article seems to scream that standards for TOPS must be lowered!

TOPS is Racist

Apparently, the TOPS program is racist because a white kid is more likely to get it than a black kid. The article above says that the original standards were lowered but not enough. The TOPS qualifying ACT score is 20 and black students average a 17. So TOPS is racist.
Even funnier, is the fact that they want an income cap on the recipients so, "more black low income students can get TOPS." If they can't make the grades necessary, why (other than to save the state money) would placing an income cap help them? This is getting stupid.

quote:

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When the state first took over Taylor’s program and offered it statewide, in 1989, it had an income cap of $25,000, about $47,850 in today’s dollars. But since 1998, everyone who qualifies academically has been eligible, even the children of millionaires.

Now, more than two-thirds of the students who receive TOPS come from families with incomes that exceed the old cap, adjusted for inflation. One in five comes from a family that makes more than $150,000.

The academic requirements also are a bit different from those of the original program. The minimum 3.0 GPA Taylor demanded was lowered to a 2.5 when the state took over. At the same time, a requirement that recipients score at least a 20 on the ACT was added — three points higher than the average of 17 posted by black students.

That’s one reason black students are massively under-represented among TOPS recipients today. Among high school graduates, state data analyzed by The Advocate shows that a white student is almost three times more likely than a black student to receive a TOPS scholarship. Asked by The Advocate whether such disparities troubled him, Jindal replied: “I think it’s a great thing that TOPS is a merit-based program, and I think that’s the way it should continue to be designed.”

He added: “As a state, we need to ensure that every child has a chance to have a great education,” adding that the reforms his administration championed helped narrow the achievement gap between black students and white students.

There’s still a long way to go, however. Louisiana has the lowest educational attainment among black people of any state in the nation, by a comfortable margin.

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There are a few more articles about TOPS that were released this week. Why is the Advocate crusading against TOPS?

So, about the article...

The minimum standard is way too low. If you can't meet that I don't feel sorry for you. You probably don't belong in college.

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