Latest news with #ClassicalLearningTest
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New TOPS award amount approved for high-performing students
A photo of Keeny Hall at Louisiana Tech University from September 2016. Sterlingrb and UpAhead Design, via Wikimedia Commons The Louisiana Legislature has created a new award level for the state's popular tuition assistance program that will cover the entirety of tuition and fees at public universities for the highest-performing students. House Bill 77 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, creates the TOPS Excellence award, which is available to any student with a 3.5 grade point average and a score of 31 or higher on the ACT or an equivalent score on a similar exam. The scholarship will provide tuition and fees at the Louisiana public university the student chooses or $12,000, whichever is less. 'It's a big win,' Turner said. Originally, Turner's bill would have created a flat rate for each level of TOPS award rather than a unique allotment for each school. The new rate would have meant students at LSU, its two medical schools and the University of New Orleans would have paid more out of pocket, while students at other Louisiana schools would have paid less. The provisions drew the criticism of Phyllis Taylor, whose late husband Patrick F. Taylor was responsible for the creation of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, a merit-based scholarship program for Louisiana students who attend in-state public colleges and universities. The original proposal was scaled back because it substantially increased the cost of the program. Instituting just the new TOPS Excellence award level will increase state spending $3 million in the first year, assuming 844 qualified students. The cost will increase over the next four years to a total cost of $12 million, when approximately 3,300 students are predicted to receive the award annually. Turner's bill also allows students to qualify for any TOPS award level by taking the conservative-backed Classical Learning Test, which evaluates students on math, writing and grammar with an emphasis on classic literature and historic documents. Its supporters frequently tout that the exam emphasizes texts that 'shaped Western culture.' The Classical Learning Test has been embraced by conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas. and has the support of the conservative Cato Institute and Heritage Foundation. Oklahoma lawmakers extensively debated embracing the Classical Learning Test to qualify for their version of TOPS, with Democrats arguing it doesn't meet the same academic rigor and anti-cheating measures as the ACT. In Louisiana, only Louisiana Christian University accepts the Classical Learning Test for admissions, according to the CLT exam website. Turner's bill will go into effect unless Gov. Jeff Landry vetoes it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana students might qualify for TOPS with conservative-backed ACT alternative
Rep. Raymond Crews. (LAI photo) Louisiana high school students might soon be able to take a conservative alternative to the ACT exam to qualify for the state's popular college scholarship program. State lawmakers quietly approved an amendment to a bill Monday that would make results from the Classical Learning Test acceptable to qualify for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, which provides tuition assistance for qualifying Louisiana students. Conservative educators are the chief proponents of the Classical Learning Test, which evaluates students on math, writing and grammar with an emphasis on classic literature and historic documents. Its supporters frequently tout that the exam emphasizes texts that 'shaped Western culture.' The test has been embraced by conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas. and has the support of the conservative Cato Institution and Heritage Foundation. Oklahoma lawmakers extensively debated embracing the test to qualify for their version of TOPS, with Democrats arguing it doesn't meet the same academic rigor and anti-cheating measures as the ACT. In Louisiana, only Louisiana Christian University and the University of New Orleans Honors College accept the test for admissions, according to the CLT website. The change to TOPS acceptance standard was made through an amendment to House Bill 77 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, which creates a new level of TOPS awards for high-achieving students. There was no debate on the amendment and it passed without objection. The House approved Turner's bill in a 91-4 vote. Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, sponsored the amendment. Crews said Jeremy Tate, founder and CEO of Classical Learning Initiatives, which created and administers the test, asked him to do so. Crews said he had not heard of the Classical Learning Test before Tate brought it to him, and he did not know that Tate was associated with the test. Turner's bill was also amended on the House floor to allow students who leave the state for their undergraduate education to use their TOPS awards if they return to Louisiana to attend medical school. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
