The "HOPE" scholarship is a touchy yet important subject that Georgia politicians and residents have had mixed views about. However, with the drainage that is occurring from the lottery that is funding the scholarship, we as Georgia residents have to face reality and set a new bar for the free College tuition handout. .
The "HOPE" scholarship was set up to congratulate those that work hard in high school and give them a helping hand with the financial burden of college. The only requirements to receive free tuition and books at a public University is a "B" average, no SAT examination scores. This may have something to do, however, with the state of Georgia being ranked 50th for average SAT scores. For a program that was set up to raise the states ranking, it has done nothing but fail.
Like Wooten, in his article "False HOPE, faux scholars" printed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution (09/21/03), I agree that the SAT needs to be taken into account also when distributing the funds. If the state of Georgia wants to score better on the exams then they must put more emphasize on them and what more of an incentive than a free ride through college. .
This is being attacked however, by those who perform poorly when it comes to test taking, saying it puts them at a disadvantage. Others such as Kathy Ashe (member of House Democratic) believe that the SAT should not be counted because it is not tied into the Georgia curriculum. This, to me, seems almost absurd when you think that SAT scores are used by colleges for admissions.
However, I also share a similar light with Wooten in regard to families, e.g. those who earn approximately $100,000 a year, who can afford to send their children to college but still take the free money. I believe that the state should still reward them for their efforts if they make the grades (and scores!) but a system of distributing funds should take into account a families annual income.