John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program

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The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program was enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature and signed into law by Mitt Romney in 2004, and is funded from general state revenues. It awards full tuition to students that graduated from Massachusetts schools, that choose to attend qualified Massachusetts state colleges and universities (it does not pay for fees and other assessed expenses).^[1]

1 Qualifications
2 Massachusetts funding of higher education in context
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Qualifications

Massachusetts public high school students with the following achievements may automatically qualify for the Adams Scholarship, after taking the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) test:^[2]

score in the Advanced category in either the Mathematics or the English language arts section of the grade 10 MCAS test;
score in the Proficient or Advanced category on the second MCAS subject (Mathematics or English language arts); and
have a combined MCAS score on these assessments that ranks in the top 25% in their school district.

[edit] Massachusetts funding of higher education in context

Massachusetts funding and support for its public higher education lags nearly every state in the United States. Its per capita appropriations funding public higher education ranks 47th in fiscal year 2005 at $137 per capita.^[3] Massachusetts ranks 49th among states in fiscal year 2007 tax appropriations for higher education per $1000 of personal income, at $3.35 per thousand.^[4]

The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program has been criticized by members of the legislature and higher education advocates for failing to be need-based, and for exacerbating the already existing inadequacies in aid to Massachusetts populations with the most need. Analysis of the qualifications for the scholarship show that largest number of scholarships generally are awarded to families who least need it, since well-off towns and families have students that score well on tests. It was estimated that 50% of the Scholarships would go to the students residing in the wealthiest districts, and 10% to students in the lowest income districts.^[3] For example, in 2004,it was projected that two-thirds of the graduates one of the of the wealthiest towns, Weston, would qualify for the scholarship, and only 3% of the graduates in the city of the much less wealthy Lowell. ^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The scholarship program has been noted to be less that it seems, because of years of inadequate funding of state colleges and universities. Fees are several times the tuition assessed to students. The local campuses do not have control over tuition income, and tuition goes into the state's general fund, not to the college itself. Tuition rates are set by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, not by the local campus or college. To fund operations of campuses, and make up for the difference between state appropriations and campus operations expenses, state college presidents rely on the only revenue source they can control, namely fees. An example: in 2006 tuition at Framingham State College was $970, while fees were $4,029. Since the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship program pays only for tuition at public colleges, substantial college expenses are left to the student receiving the scholarship.^[9]

[edit] References

^ David P. Driscoll, Commissioner of Education. The John and Abigail Adams Scholarships, and the Stanley Z. Koplik Certificate of Mastery Awards (Memorandum to Superintendents, High School Principals, Charter School Directors, Collaborative Directors, Directors of Approved Private Special Education Schools, and Guidance Counselors) Massachusetts Department of Education, December 20, 2004. Retrieved Dec 23, 2006.
^ John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program Description, Massachusetts Department of Education. Retrieved December 20, 2006.
^ ^a ^b The 2004 Indicators Project: Funding for public higher education The Boston Foundation. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Ranking of States on Appropriations of State Tax Funds for Operating Expenses of Higher Education per $1,000 Personal Income and per Capita, FY07 Grapevine Center for the Study of Education Policy, Illinois State University. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Vaishnav, Anand. Lawmakers Buck Romney's MCAS scholarship Plan: Legislative leaders say it would favor wealthier districts. Boston Globe, March 14, 2004. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Vaishnav, Anand and Bill Dedman. Romney's scholarship plan favors richer school districts: Suburban whites would largely be tuition winners Boston Globe, March 7, 2004. Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Heller, Donald E., Ed.; Marin, Patricia, Ed. State Merit Scholarship Programs and Racial Inequality The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University; (2004). Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Heller, Donald E., Ed.; Marin, Patricia, Ed. Who Should We Help? The Negative Social Consequences of Merit Scholarships. The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University; (2002). A compilation of papers presented at a symposium: State Merit Aid Programs: College Access and Equity held in Cambridge, MA, on December 8, 2001↓.] Available via Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Retrieved December 23, 2006.
^ Kladko, Brian. State colleges could get greater tuition control: State colleges could get greater tuition control: Legislation aims to address fees, which far outweigh tuition costs Boston Business Journal, February 3, 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2006.