“The results of this study demonstrate that the students who historically have had the lowest college going rates — minority, lower-income and educationally disadvantaged students — are those least likely to qualify for an Adams Scholarship,” says Heller.
“This is an inefficient and ineffective use of public dollars to promote college attendance in the state,” he says. “Massachusetts would be better off investing the money spent on this program in its existing need-based grants if it is interested in closing the gaps in college attendance in the Commonwealth.”
The findings from this study have relevance for states other than Massachusetts. “States that are considering implementing merit scholarship programs should be careful when deciding what criteria to use for awarding the scholarships,” Heller says. “The use of criteria that result in large gaps in the awards, as found in Massachusetts, will similarly disadvantage students in other states.”
Dr. Gary Orfield, director of The Civil Rights Project and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, says, “Massachusetts needs to get serious about college access and civil rights. With a stagnant population, growing minority communities with segregated and inferior schools and an economy that has few low skill jobs, we simply must educate our people. To poorly support the students who cannot afford the soaring costs, while shifting state funds to privileged White students whose families could easily pay, undermines our future.”
The full study, “MCAS Scores and the Adams Scholarships: A Policy Failure,” can be downloaded at: www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/news/pressreleases/merit_policy_brief.pdf
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
