College Aid Qualifications to Get Stiffer

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - In a rare venture into curriculum, the Bush administration on Tuesday declared which high school programs are "rigorous" enough to qualify students for college aid.

The designation is important because only college freshmen and sophomores who complete a rigorous high school course of study can receive certain new grants approved by Congress.

The Education Department typically avoids endorsing or rating coursework, a politically sensitive area that states control.

But in creating the math and science grants for poorer students, Congress ordered Education Secretary
Margaret Spellings to judge which high school programs are challenging.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060502/ap_on_go_ot/college_grants

[KamaAina]

1. Qualifications aren't the only thing getting stiffer

The Bushies get all hot and bothered when they come up with a sneaky, underhanded, back-door way to cut off financial aid to precisely the students who need it most, those who come from poorer districts where art and music are considered luxuries, never mind AP and IB courses. :grr: Oh yes, wanna bet most of the 31 states not offering honors diplomas are Red? I know true-Blue N.Y. State has the Regent's diploma.

U.S. News just came out with a list of the top public high schools, based on performance on -- you guessed it -- AP and IB courses. See how many inner-city schools you can scare up:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678/site/newsweek/?nav=slatefrom/RSS/

Betcha most of the few you do find are city-wide magnet schools...

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. What about the home schooled?

I know a few people who home-school their kids because they don't feel the local schools are rigorous enough. But many home-schoolers pick that way of educating their kids so that their poor darlings won't be exposed to unGodly dangers like evolution, critical thinking, gay people, diversity training, liberalism, etc. Would they qualify for federal college aid?