2004-2005 Michigan Merit Award Annual Report
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MMMIIICCCHHHIIIGGGAAANNN MMMEEERRRIIITTT AAAWWWAAARRRDDD 222000000555 AAAnnnnnnuuuaaalll RRReeepppooorrrttt For State Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2005 Pursuant to MCL 390.1456 Section 6(5) Overview The Michigan Merit Award was established by Public Act 94 of 1999 (Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Act; MCL 390.1451 through 390.1459; as amended by Public Act 537 of 2002, Public Act 586 of 2002, and Public Act 595 of 2004), to recognize academic achievement on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests and to help make postsecondary education more affordable. The Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Act also provides a funding source for the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) and the Michigan Nursing Scholarship (MNS). The Michigan Merit Award program is administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury and receives direction from the Michigan Merit Award Board. The MNS program is administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury’s Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority (MHEAA) and does not receive direction from the Michigan Merit Award Board. During the period of this report, the Act has been amended as follows: January 5, 2005 – Public Act 595 of 2004 amended sections 2,6,7,8 and 9 (MCL 390.1452, 390.1456, 390.1457, 390.1458 and 390.1459), sections 2 and 7 as amended by 2002 PA 736, section 6 as amended by 2002 PA 537, and section 8 as amended by 2004 PA 69, and by adding sections 7a and 7b. • Students enrolled in 11th grade in or after the 2006-2007 school year will begin taking the Michigan Merit Examination, instead of the current high school (MEAP) assessment test Award Amounts The Michigan Merit Award Scholarship rewards academic achievement and makes postsecondary education more affordable. Unlike many other scholarship programs, it is based solely on academic achievement. Qualifying students in the high school Classes of 2000 through 2004 can receive $2,500 to be used at any approved postsecondary educational institution (see Exhibit 1). Beginning with the Class of 2005, qualifying students can receive up to $3,000. The award is available to all public school, public school academy, nonpublic school, and home school students. Funding is provided by a portion of Michigan’s share of the revenue from the November 1998 multi-state settlement agreement with tobacco manufacturers. Merit Award 2005 Annual Report 2 Academic achievement is currently measured by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test scores. Students, who achieve a qualifying score on all four high school tests (mathematics, reading, science, and writing) and meet all other eligibility requirements, qualify for the full award amount. Table 1 Class of 2000 Class of 2003 Class of 2002 Class of 2005 and 2001 and 2004 Total Award $2,500 up to $3,000 $1,250 twice, paid over two consecutive academic years. Maximum payable in first $2,500 once, or $1,250 twice, year cannot exceed 1/2 of total award. Payments paid over two academic years Warning: Failure to use funds in next academic year will result in forfeiture of any balance. $2,500 in Michigan; $1,000 outside (full $2,500 if student attends a U.S. Military Use academy). May use $1,500 balance if student enrolls in a Michigan institution and payments can be made before expiration date. Expires after 7 years 4 years Additional money for No Yes (see Table 2 below) 7th/8th grade MEAP tests? Beginning with the Class of 2005, all Merit Award Scholarship awardees that tested in the 7th and 8th grade MEAP are eligible for additional funds based on test scores. Table 2 If the student achieved Bringing their entire Additional funds qualifying results in Michigan Merit Award to TWO of the four 7th and $250 $2,750 8th grade MEAP tests THREE of the four 7th and $375 $2,875 8th grade MEAP tests FOUR of the four 7th and $500 $3,000 8th grade MEAP tests Eligibility Qualifying Scores Current MEAP tests are based on the Content Standards developed by Michigan educators and approved by the State Board of Education in 1995. The MEAP tests have been recognized nationally as valid measurements of academic achievement. Qualifying score levels are determined by the Michigan Merit Award Board. To be eligible for a Michigan Merit Award, a student must: • Take all four MEAP high school tests prior to the end of the student's senior year of high school - Writing, Reading, Mathematics and Science. Social Studies and Listening are not required to earn a Michigan Merit Award. Merit Award 2005 Annual Report 3 • Achieve Level I (“Exceeded Michigan Standards”) or Level II (“Met Michigan Standards”) on all four tests. • Meet all other eligibility requirements. Alternate Ways to Qualify If a student takes all four of the MEAP tests, achieves Level I or Level II on at least two of the tests, and meets all other eligibility requirements, there are two alternate ways to qualify for an award: • Alternate "A" - The student also scores at or above the 75th percentile on the ACT or SAT tests. The qualifying ACT and SAT scores may differ year-to-year, based on national norms for each test. Currently, the qualifying score for ACT is a Sum score of 94 or higher (or, a Composite score of 24 or higher); the qualifying score for SAT is 1170 or higher. These scores are not expected to change. • Alternate "B" - The student also achieves qualifying scores on the ACT WorkKeys job skills assessment test. The Michigan Merit Award Board defines WorkKeys qualifying scores (Class of 2002 and after): o Reading for Information test (a score of 5) o Applied Mathematics test (a score of 5) o Locating Information test (a score of 4) o Writing test (a score of 3) If a student wishes to qualify through Alternate "A" or "B", all applicable tests must be taken prior to the end of the student's senior year of high school. Other Eligibility Requirements In addition to achieving qualifying scores on the high school MEAP tests (and other authorized tests, as needed), a student must: • Graduate from a Michigan high school, acquire the GED, or as a Michigan resident graduate from an out-of-state high school. • Have never been convicted of a felony involving an assault, physical injury or death. • Enroll at an approved postsecondary educational institution. • Use award monies for eligible costs. Merit Award 2005 Annual Report 4 Fiscal Year 2005 in Review Awards The number of students from the Class of 2004 receiving Michigan Merit Award Scholarships was 52,827 with a total of $52,256,860 expended in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005. For the Class of 2005, the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship was given to 52,981 students bringing the total to date up to 258,095 scholarships awarded. Of this number, 41,364 Class of 2005 students have returned a completed certification indicating that they have met all eligibility requirements (as of 10/03/05). Chart 1 Michigan Merit Awards 53,500 52,827 52,981 52,500 51,914 51,653 51,500 50,500 49,500 48,720 Students 48,500 47,500 46,500 45,500 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Class Note: Awardees by graduating class year will not completely correspond to a fiscal year. Due to appeals and reviews of individual test performances, occasionally awards are given to students of a given graduating class year in a future fiscal year. Awardees by graduating class may also change due to the verification of each student’s actual graduation date. Participation For FY 2005 there were 166,981 students who took at least one of the high school MEAP tests (reading, writing, mathematics, science, and/or social studies). This number includes all class years. During any given school year, the tests are administered to students in grade 12. In addition, the following groups of students may also be tested: Merit Award 2005 Annual Report 5 • Grade 10 students with letter from parent or guardian indicating intent to dual enroll in the winter of their junior year • Grade 12 students who have not yet taken the high school MEAP tests before • Any grade 10, 11, or 12 students who wish to retake the tests for a higher score Chart 2 Students Taking High School MEAP Test - FY 2005 34,445 Fall Retake Spring 132,536 The number of students taking all four required high school MEAP tests (reading, writing, mathematics, and science) was 112,906. Of these, Chart 3 below shows the number of qualifying scores (Level I or Level II) by test type. Chart 3 Number of Qualifying Scores 100,000 91,458 90,000 80,000 68,521 68,059 68,919 70,000 60,000 50,000 Students 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Reading Writing Mathematics Science Note: Above counts of unique students are as of 11/21/2005. The number of students who used either Alternate “A” or “B” to qualify was 3,102. Merit Award 2005 Annual Report 6 Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) The Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Act provides funding for the TIP program, which is an incentive program that encourages eligible students to complete high school by providing tuition assistance. Table 3 Participation Amount Awarded FY 2005 in TIP through TIP Phase I (Associate Degree or Certificate) 7,637 $11,150,862.00 Phase II (Course work beyond Associate 615 $554,620.00 Degree) Total 7,637 $11,705,482.00 Michigan Merit Award Trust Fund Table 4 shows revenue and expenditures projections for the Michigan Merit Award Trust fund for FY 2006 through FY 2016. Expenditures include program administration costs, Merit awards, TIP awards, and MNS awards.