Letter: Tougher courses should be taken for scholarship

Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | 9:17 a.m.

The state's Millennium Scholarship is actually hurting the education of many of our students. It sure sounded good on paper, though, didn't it? Who would be against a $10,000 scholarship for students who earn a 3.0 or higher grade point average? The truth of the matter, however, is not so rosy.

Many students are not taking the harder honors and college-prep classes, but instead are taking the easier, average classes to maintain their GPA eligibility. And then we wonder why 40 percent of UNLV freshmen have to take remedial classes. I am actually shocked that the percentage is not higher.

Simply increasing the GPA eligibility for the scholarship is not the answer. The higher the GPA requirement, the lower the number of students who will be taking honors and advanced-placement classes. Therefore, the solution is not to raise the GPA, but to offer the scholarship only to those students who graduate with a 3.0 or higher GPA after having taken advanced courses leading to an honors diploma.

This would force the students to take more rigorous classes, and the number of students at UNLV in remedial classes would drop drastically.

BRIAN L BLANK

Editor's note: The writer teaches advanced-placement courses at Clark High School.