Senate Bill 12 was introduced to the General Assembly and seeks to amend the Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Act, known as the SEED scholarship. My understanding is that it is one of several bills seeking to amend the program adopted in 2006 and establish a scholarship for any graduating senior who maintains a 2.5 GPA.
As you can tell by the “Excellence Equals Degree” included in the naming of the act, the legislative focus has been on college as the key to success. A 30-year educator, over the past decade I have shared my concerns about the well-intended but misguided approach implemented in the name of improving student outcomes. A policy that looks good on paper can overcook key ingredients that go into a recipe for student success — such as burdensome teacher evaluations, misleading test scores and exaggerated graduation requirements that weaken, instead of strengthen, our educational system. Over the years I have articulated my position that a trade or skill can be more successful than a debt-laden degree that offers no obvious path to employment.
SB 12 seeks to amend the SEED program by opening it up to Delawareans aged 25-64. Other bills would expand the number of semesters available to SEED recipients from six to 10. Both decisions are well-intended and look good on paper. However, they come not only with a cost to taxpayers but also unintended consequences to students. While we are considering an amendment to the act, I would offer a few that would address what I believe are flaws in the program.
One flaw, for example, is that less than 15%-25% of students enrolled in the SEED program earn an associate degree. That should be a concerning return on investment for taxpayers who are funding the program at a cost of what I estimate to be nearly $100 million to date. I would suggest that the SEED program fall under similar guidelines imposed on high schools that have failing graduation rates, to identify the underlying causes and address them through change. A Harvard study on performance issues with college students identified a lack of skin in the game (classes being free) as a key contributor to poor success rates. One way to address this would be to develop a clawback provision requiring the student and higher-learning institution to reimburse a prorated portion back to the taxpayer for a failed opportunity. At minimum, students should be expected to reimburse the state for courses that they failed to attend or participate in.
Another consequence is the 2.5 GPA (C average) requirement that sets the bar low and, in turn, unintentionally directs students undesiring of the rigors of college on a path to failure. I suggest raising the bar to 2.7 (C-plus average) for the associate degree/college path and offering clear alternatives for those who do fall into that category. Providing school counselors, parents and students with a secondary option that expands the SEED program is one way to address this flaw. The idea is simple: to implement and improve on the taxpayers’ investment in the program. Instead of limiting the program to an associate degree, expand it to include apprenticeship/trade/certification or, in simple terms, skills. Just because a student does not excel in the academic classroom does not mean he/she will not excel in the apprentice or vocational classroom.
A final suggestion would be to look at ways to make the funding portable, like a voucher system, allowing students to choose private or public options showing the most promise for their chosen path. Currently, SB 12 further monopolizes one path and has the potential to place workforce partners not included in the funding at a disadvantage threatening their existence.
If I were a legislator, my position would be, “We have this program, and it is being proposed to expand. Can we do better and how?” The “Student Excellence Equals Degree” program, better known as the SEED scholarship, would be improved if it were renamed the “Student Excellence Equals Degree/Skills,” or SEEDS, scholarship.
Eric Buckson is a teacher at Polytech High School and Kent County Levy Court commissioner serving the 4th District. He lives in Camden.
