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30-638: Bright Futures is a scholarship program in the state of Florida . It is funded by the Florida Lottery and was first started in 1997. The Bright Futures Scholarship Program was meant to emulate neighboring state Georgia's HOPE Scholarship . Originally the Program disbursed just above 42,000 scholarships for about $ 70 million. At the program's peak in 2008, it provided scholarships to 39% of Florida high school graduates, including 94 percent of incoming freshmen and 70 percent of all undergraduates at

60-678: A 'full-ride', covering all tuition, accommodation, housing and others. Some prestigious, highly competitive scholarships are well-known even outside the academic community, such as Fulbright Scholarship and the Rhodes Scholarships at the graduate level, and the Robertson , Morehead-Cain and Jefferson Scholarships at the undergraduate level. While the terms scholarship and grant are frequently used interchangeably, they are distinctly different. Where grants are offered based exclusively on financial need, scholarships may have

90-462: A 4-point scale, and some historians say this is the origin of the standard modern American GPA scale. Bob Marlin argues that the concept of grading students' work quantitatively was developed by a tutor named William Farish and first implemented by the University of Cambridge in 1792. That assertion has been questioned by Christopher Stray, who finds the evidence for Farish as the inventor of

120-407: A course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as numbers out of a possible total (often out of 100). The exact system that is used varies worldwide. In some countries, grades are averaged to create a grade point average ( GPA ). GPA is calculated by using the number of grade points a student earns in a given period of time. A GPA

150-423: A financial need component but rely on other criteria as well. A federal Pell Grant can be awarded to someone planning to receive their undergraduate degree and is solely based on their financial needs. The most common scholarships may be classified as: Grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in

180-493: A massive overhaul of the scholarship, with the "A level" being renamed to "Florida Academic Scholar" (FAS), the "B level" renamed to "Florida Medallion Scholar" (FMS), the vocational program being renamed to "Gold Seal Vocational", and a new fourth level (also intended for vocational schools) called "Gold Seal CAPE". Another new award was also added called the Academic Top Scholar (ATS) award, which would be given to

210-583: A piece of legislation that would have made massive structural changes to Bright Future's implementation and administration. While SB 86 did not pass, other similar legislation raised the SAT score requirements from 1290 to 1330 for FAS and 1170 to 1210 for FMS, but the ACT score requirement remained the same for both levels. In 2022, the SAT requirement for the FAS level was raised to 1340 (taking effect for 2023–24 graduates), but

240-518: A regular graduating senior's graduation year. Each district school board (or school administration for nonpublic schools) has the right to set an earlier deadline for volunteer/paid work hour completion requirements if they choose to do so. At each level, the scholarship is valid for one year and is renewable for up to five years or a specified number of semester hours depending on scholarship level (whichever comes sooner), but certain requirements must be met regarding GPA and courses completed, depending on

270-485: A student with financial aid or a scholarship. Grades are seen as an indicator for academic success and ability, and GPA is thought to indicate future job effectiveness and success. In addition, research has shown a correlation between GPA and future Job satisfaction . Studies have also shown that a higher GPA leads to a higher income. Students were given assessments as far back as 500 B.C. but no methods existed to formally measure student performance or track mastery of

300-453: Is more interested in a topic, has learned to deal better with failure and whether he has developed new ideas cannot be answered with grades. Instead, Precht suggests a differentiated written assessment of the students' learning and development path. In his opinion, the grading system comes from a psychologically and pedagogically uninformed era and does not belong in the 21st century. German educational innovator Margret Rasfeld criticizes

330-505: Is often calculated for high school , undergraduate , and graduate students. A cumulative grade point average ( CGPA ), is the average of all the GPAs a student has achieved during their time at the institution. Students are sometimes required to maintain a certain GPA in order to be admitted to a certain academic program or to remain in that program. Grades are also used in decisions to provide

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360-529: The University of Florida . The program was solely based on academic merit and not on financial need, and had an "A level" and a "B level", plus a vocational scholarship program that could be used at trade schools. The A level covered 100% of tuition and fees while the B level covered 75%. At its height in 2008, the program was criticized for subsidizing the education of students from wealthy families using lottery proceeds collected largely from lower-income individuals. UF Chief Financial Officer Matt Fajack criticized

390-692: The 2015–16 school year, the program covered only 20% of Florida high school graduates and paid an average of $ 2,000 per year. In 2014, the United States Department of Education launched an investigation of the Bright Futures program due to allegations of racial bias against black and Latino students, focusing particularly on its effects on students from Miami–Dade County and at Florida International University . The department ultimately found evidence of disparate impacts on minorities but no evidence of discriminatory intent. 2018 saw

420-542: The December 31 (if the student is a mid-year graduate and seeking funding for the following spring term) or the August 31 (if the student is a regular graduate or if they are a mid-year graduate who is not seeking funding for the following spring term) following the student's high school graduation. This section does not list every possible scenario that can be used to qualify for a Bright Futures scholarship, but it does list

450-474: The FAS requirement of 3.00. If a student withdraws from a course, they must repay Bright Futures for the cost of that course. If a student is unable to meet annual renewal requirements due to a verifiable illness or other documented emergency (as reported by the post-secondary institution), an exception of one academic year to the renewal timeframe may be granted. (All numbers as of 2022–23 school year) Scholarship Scholarship criteria usually reflect

480-528: The SAT requirement at the FMS level and the ACT requirement at both levels remained the same. As of August 2022, the program funds four scholarship levels, available to students who: All above requirements must be met by January 31 (if the student is a mid-year graduate) or June 30 (if the student is a regular graduate) following student's high school graduation other than the FFAA submission, which must be completed by

510-501: The United States in 1971. It has been criticized that grades are only short-term snapshots of how much a student has learned in a given period of time, which only partially reflect the actual performance and does not take sufficient account of the individual development of students. Likewise, poor grades over a longer period of time would give students the impression that they would learn very little or nothing, which jeopardizes

540-414: The innate intrinsic motivation of every child to learn. Children who have already lost their desire to learn and only study for their grades have no reason to continue learning after they have achieved the best possible grade. In addition, poor grades represent destructive feedback for students, since they do not provide any constructive assistance, but only absolute key figures. It is also criticized that

570-506: The level. If a FAS awardee drops below the 3.00 GPA requirement, they are allowed to renew at the FMS level (provided their GPA is still above 2.75). If the student dropped below the threshold during their first year of study they may also be reinstated at the FAS level if they bring their GPA back above 3.00; FMS awardees can also be reinstated if they drop below the 2.75 requirement and then bring their GPA back up during their first year of study, but they cannot earn FAS even if their GPA meets

600-407: The minimum score for the "A level", from 1280 to 1290, and increasing the minimum score for the "B level" from 980 to 1170; as well as decreasing the award amount for the "A level" to only cover 50% of tuition and fees and the "B level" to cover 33%, down from 100% and 75% respectively. The cuts disproportionately impacted black and Latino students as well as students from predominantly poor schools. By

630-523: The most common ways. For the full list of ways to qualify as of August 2022, see here . Additionally, the Bright Futures program gives an Academic Top Scholar (ATS) award to the student with the highest academic rank in each of Florida's 67 counties, based on multiplying the student's weighted GPA and ACT/SAT score. Requirements for all levels must be met no later than January 31 of a mid-year graduating senior's graduation year (i.e. students who graduate after one semester of their senior year) or June 30 of

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660-447: The numerical mark to be unpersuasive. Stray's article also explains the complex relationship between the mode of examination (oral or written) and the varying philosophies of education these modes imply to both the teacher and the student. The A-D/F system was first adopted by Mount Holyoke College in 1897. However, this system did not become widespread until the 1940s, and was still only used by 67% of primary and secondary schools in

690-410: The program for keeping state university tuition artificially low, since any tuition raise would mean that the state would have to spend more money to cover scholarships under the program. The Florida Legislature enacted cuts to Bright Futures funding in 2011 by increasing the minimum SAT score required to qualify for the program. The changes took full effect for the graduating class of 2014, increasing

720-402: The same evaluation standards". Grading may also reflect the bias of the instructor thereby reinforcing systematic bias. As educators have begun to recognize the potential drawbacks, alternative grading methods, including competency-based assessment, specifications grading, and "ungrading" have become more popular. Most nations have their own grading system, and different institutions in

750-435: The student with the highest academic rank in each Florida county. The FAS and FMS levels returned to their previous values, with the FAS increasing to cover 100% of tuition and fees plus a new $ 300 per semester book stipend and the FMS increasing to cover 75% of tuition and fees. In 2021, the book stipend was removed as part of the budgetary process. This change came among many controversies surrounding Florida Senate Bill 86 ,

780-659: The subject. In the mid 1600’s Harvard University started to require exit exams to evaluate students, but they were not scored with letter grades. The first record of a grading scale for students was at Yale University. Yale University historian George Wilson Pierson writes: "According to tradition the first grades issued at Yale (and possibly the first in the country) were given out in the year 1785, when President Ezra Stiles , after examining 58 Seniors, recorded in his diary that there were 'Twenty Optimi , sixteen second Optimi , twelve Inferiores ( Boni ), ten Pejores .'" By 1837, Yale had converted these adjectives into numbers on

810-537: The system of grades as unhelpful and, in her opinion, the resulting competitive thinking in schools and says: "School is there to organize success and not to document failure." German neuroscientist Gerald Hüther criticizes grades for being responsible for ensuring that students cannot specialize in any topic that they are enthusiastic about and have a talent for, since otherwise their grades in other areas would deteriorate. He also believes that "our society will not develop further...if we force all children to conform to

840-489: The system of school grades in his book Anna, die Schule und der liebe Gott: Der Verrat des Bildungssystems an unseren Kindern . He believes that numbers from 1 to 6 (the school grading system used in Germany) do not do justice to the personalities of the children. In his opinion, grades are neither meaningful nor differentiated and therefore not helpful. For example, the questions whether a student has become more motivated,

870-487: The values and goals of the donor of the award, and while scholarship recipients are not required to repay scholarships, the awards may require that the recipient continue to meet certain requirements during their period of support, such as maintaining a minimum grade point average or engaging in a certain activity (e.g., playing on a school sports team for athletic scholarship holders). Scholarships also range in generosity; some cover partial tuition , while others offer

900-471: The way of thinking, which can often be traced back to the grading system, that bad grades lead to poor future prospects, leads to perplexity, pressure, stress and depression among parents and children. It is criticized that students often do not learn for their future life or out of interest in the material, but only for the grades and the associated status, which promotes bulimic learning . German philosopher and publicist Richard David Precht criticizes

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