This week the director of the research unit that creates Arkansas’ grade inflation report told lawmakers that it was a poor measure and should not be used to determine which hurdles high school students must clear before becoming eligible for an Arkansas Lottery Scholarship. Under a law that will go into effect next year, high-school students who attend schools identified as grade-inflaters must score a 19 or higher on the ACT to  be scholarship eligible.  Students from all other schools only need a 2.5 GPA to be deemed eligible for a scholarship.

State Senator Jimmy Jeffress (D-Crossett) suggested that the debate over the dual measures could be ended if a minimum score of 19 on the ACT was made the sole criteria.  Jeffress also questioned why the minimum was set at 19, which is a relatively low ACT score.

This is a good sign from Jeffress, and we said almost the same in an earlier post here. Requiring everyone to make at least a minimum score on the ACT gives everyone an even playing field to compete for a scholarhsip.  Still, while GPA should never be used as a sole indicator, it is probably worth keeping because it does capture some important college-ready characteristics, like the ability to work hard over a sustained period of time.  While ACT scores are likely correlated with hard work, they really only provide a snapshot of knowledge and skills.

Still, even in the best case scenario where both measures are required for all, raising both the GPA and ACT requirements should be considered.  Other state scholarship programs typically require GPAs in the range of 2.75 – 3.0, with ACT requirements in the mid-20s.