A federal proposal could give students with financial need money for college -- provided they graduated from a "rigorous" high school.
Though the initiative is expected to pass when it goes to the House of Representatives next month, some wonder if the initiative does anything to help good students in poor high schools.
The definition of what constitutes a "rigorous" high school program has not been determined yet, and education experts and government officials are unsure of what the bill means forthe future of higher and secondary education.
The measure -- which was passed by the Senate in December and is being backed by the Bush administration -- requires each state to rate its high schools based on Department of Education-approved standards. Students who graduate from those schools would be eligible for grants.
Susan Fuhrman -- the dean of Penn's Graduate School of Education -- said that the program may allow more students from low-income backgrounds to attend elite, private universities like Penn.
Most students accepted to Penn, Fuhrman said, attended "rigorous" high schools, and would therefore be eligible for aid from the initiative.
"It would help needy students go to Penn," Fuhrman said.
But Education professor Laura Perna said that the bill could hurt high schools with limited financial capabilities.
"There's no aid attached to this that helps high schools, so it could be that people who most need financial aid attend poorer quality schools that don't have the resources," Perna said.
Others believe that the enforcement of the program will prove problematic to the bill's success.
"The whole question will be the extent to which the state enforces it," Fuhrman said. "It will be difficult because [the enforcement] will have to go by requirements, so the question will be, for example, is Algebra II the same everywhere?"
Pennsylvania Department of Education spokesman Mike Storm said that the bill could cause a stampede among high schools.
"There would be a bit of a rush to get [a high school] program recognized as 'rigorous,'" Storm said. "It definitely looks like it's going to be a squeeze for the federal Department [of Education] to get everything done."
Storm also said that Pennsylvania already has high school reform initiatives under way and that the state "would certainly welcome more federal grants for our students."
Regardless of speculations, some experts say that the bill signifies a change in the state of secondary education, such as creating a stronger bond between colleges and high schools.
"We're entering a different era where higher education is getting involved in curricular issues in K-12. That hasn't happened before," Perna said.
College Dean Dennis DeTurck said that he hopes the Department of Education will consult with college officials when drafting the standards for secondary schools.
"It would make sense for the federal government to ask admissions officers at highly selective schools and big state universities which high schools they have identified as having a rigorous curriculum," DeTurck said.
