re: JBE drops the hammer

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I don't see how this benefits many kids who could benefit from tops

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It genuinely amazes me how people still don't understand why TOPS was started. Louisiana wanted to combat the "brain drain" (i.e. Louisiana's best and brightest leaving the state for college and never returning) by offering a merit based scholarship that would incentivize them to stay. TOPS is a merit based scholarship and is not meant to help people go to college unless they earned it academically. There are many, many other opportunities for those that are need-based.

Louisiana cannot afford to educate everyone who could go to college. And that was never the point of TOPS. But many have lost sight of that.

The big issue in the state and our country is the thought that you have to go to college or you are a failure. Schools don't push you to try trade schools. Four years of college and then trying to get a degree with debt could be a worst choice than a two year trade to be a plumber or electrican. So my tops solution would be this.

ACT 18-20, partial tuition at two year trade
ACT 20-24 half tuition to trade or 1/6 tuition to major university
ACT 25-28 Full two year or 1/4 university
ACT 29-30 Full Two year or 1/2 University
ACT 30+ Full to any post high school education

This would help keep the smart ones in state, as well as provide young adults with jobs. Pipe fitters, auto mechanics, electrical, plumbing... All of these can make good money and provide for a family. Let's get back to growing our working class.

Sh....you're being too logical. And racist.

I don't think you know the difference between a private entitlement and a public one. Too bad your parents didn't pay for college. Not my problem. Don't make me pay for it. It's quite simple.

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middle is the burden of America. is bullshite. Its the middle that end up paying for most of the burdens you list.

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No they don't.

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scored a 19 and a 20 on the ACT, but I graduated cum laude and in the top 10% of my graduating class. Using standardized testing as a measure of future college success is dumb because of people like me.

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I can see a bump to 23-25, but 26 is extreme. There are plenty smart people who simply don't test well. But this is Louisiana so nothing ever has to make sense. Colorado made $100M+ in taxes on pot last year but Louisiana wants no part of that easy money. Don't want to amend the constitution. Don't want to close any colleges.

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There is no way that the black people of Louisiana will just sit back and go along with this. I just can't see any scenario where test scores alone are used to determine who gets scholarships. You would have to be ignorant of the last 40 years of American culture, academia and law to believe this. This would heavily favor white and asian kids, and even more those who have access to High School ACT classes, tutoring, etc. Just the Race Grievance Industry alone would eat the Governor alive. That's without even factoring in the SJW crowd and the academic establishment. And then of course, there are the Courts

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I'd be willing to bet the new standards would affect far more average white kids than blacks in the state.

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I don't understand why the government should be in the business of paying for college education. Parents should pay for their kids education (like mine made sure they did). If they didn't do that then take out a loan or get a job or sell a kidney.

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I didn't say they should. The original intent was to cover low-income over-achieving students. That isn't the case now.

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People go to Disney every year and expect free education.

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This is the problem. People aren't saving as much for college because of TOPS. The system can make tuition as high as they want and hide behind the "still cheaper than 'out of state school'".

TOPS is a problem because of what is has become.
Tuition is a problem because of what it has become. Easy to say that tuition is too high. Difficult to say why, no matter how obvious it is.

Did the ACT get easier? In 1987 I took it my junior year with no prep and got a 21. I finished undergrad with a 3.59 GPA in the hard sciences and have a doctorate level or more degree having completed grad school and post grad as well as a fellowship.

I agree with you, just "replied" to your post.

Quite frankly, I'd be receptive to a system that seeks out the smartest from the poor (of any race). High ACT score and very low income. Again with no race or creed based system. More than likely though that won't pass and the best thing is to scrap it. In people's next lives they'll work harder and get better jobs.

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There is no way that the black people of Louisiana will just sit back and go along with this. I just can't see any scenario where test scores alone are used to determine who gets scholarships. You would have to be ignorant of the last 40 years of American culture, academia and law to believe this. This would heavily favor white and asian kids, and even more those who have access to High School ACT classes, tutoring, etc. Just the Race Grievance Industry alone would eat the Governor alive. That's without even factoring in the SJW crowd and the academic establishment. And then of course, there are the Courts...

No way they don't put in artificial race exceptions or GPA's or "disadvantaged community" criteria. Virtually impossible.

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Facts. There's no one single way to objectively measure a student's future success. It's damn sure not standardized testing. SAT, ACT, IQ tests, it's all bullshite. There are way too many factors involved in a student's personal life and academic career. Honor students in high school have flunked out of college and the ones who barely made it out of high school have excelled. Often times, the perceived "best and brightest" aren't always so and that's been proven many times. People don't understand this though.