TennWatch/Volitics: Lottery Scholarships Missing the Mark

April 30, 2006

Lottery Scholarships Missing the Mark

The citizens of Tennessee voted for a lottery to help the children, but they didn't know it would be the children that needed it least:

Students from high-income families benefit more from Tennessee's lottery scholarship program, according to a newspaper analysis of lottery records.
In Hamilton County, for example, the average student with a lottery scholarship comes from a family that makes $71,980 a year, compared with the $38,930 median household income the U.S. Census Bureau reports for the county.
The trend is common in nearly every part of the state, according to a report by The Chattanooga Times Free Press, which looked at 2005 state lottery data.

The program gives an additional $1,500 to low-income recipients who qualify, it's just the "qualify" part that's the problem. How many kids from low-income families are going to make a 3.0 GPA or a 21 on the ACT?

It's the families where the parents have college degrees that make certain that their kids do well in school. The families struggling to get by are sending their kids to a school that is struggling to control gang activity. Only the most incredibly exceptional kids are going to do well in that environment.

You can't ignore these kids for 12 years and then expect them to perform with the promise of money if they can pass a test! We need to get our priorities straight.

Technorati Tags: Education, Lottery, Scholarships, Tennessee Politics, Failing Our Future Generations.

Posted on Sunday at 6:02 PM in category Education
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April 30, 2006

Lottery Scholarships Missing the Mark

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