This year is a record breaking year in South Dakota for enrollment in our post-secondary institutions. We have more students attending public schools than we ever have before.
My question is then… why such a low increase in the amount of Opportunity Scholarships? Is no one applying for them because of the amount? Or are there not enough students who qualify because there are less students in the system overall (due to declining enrollments since 1997)?
Students wishing to get a scholarship must complete rigorous high school coursework and get a 24 on the ACT. Earlier this year there was talk of lowering the standards so more students would qualify.
I think $5,000 is an excellent incentive. Let’s open up the pool by bringing the score baseline to 22 on the ACT and give more of our hard working South Dakota kids an equal opportunity in this state to get a college education.
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Scott, I could be wrong, but if I remember correctly, 24 was chosen becasue statistically is represents the 50th percentile and is a predictor for college success. Personally, I think you have this one backwards -- instead of dumbing down the ACT threshold from a score of 24 to a 22 -- I would like to see greater political and adademic emphasis on helping more kids achieve a minimum ACT score of 24.
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