News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Contact:	Heidi Guarino 781-338-3106 or Sarah Mealey 617-994-6926

Adams Scholarships Awarded to Class of 2008

MALDEN - Nearly 17,000 students in the class of 2008 have been named as recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship. This year, 16,976 students across the Commonwealth were awarded the scholarship, an increase of more than 800 students since last year. Eligibility is based on students' performance on the Grade 10 MCAS English and Math exams. To qualify, students must score Advanced on one exam and either Proficient or Advanced on the second exam, as well as score within the top 25 percent of all students within their district. "This recognition is well deserved," said Acting Education Commissioner Jeffrey Nellhaus. "This scholarship has been a tremendous incentive for our high school students to show their best work on MCAS. It will help ease the cost of college for these recipients and allow them to continue their academic growth after high school." Adams Scholarship recipients receive free tuition at any of Massachusetts' public colleges and universities. The tuition waiver remains in effect for eight consecutive semesters or four years. Recipients must begin to use the waiver in the first fall semester following their high school graduation, and must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better throughout the time of the waiver. "The Adams Scholarship has far-reaching benefits for the Commonwealth. The qualifying students receive an important financial contribution toward a high-quality education, and the public higher education system benefits by attracting more high-performing students," said Patricia Plummer, Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education. Of the nearly 17,000 students who received the scholarship this year:

55 percent were female, 45 percent were male
82 percent were white, 8 percent Asian, 5 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent African American/black
13 percent were low income
21 percent were from urban districts

Statewide, Brockton High School had the highest increase of recipients between 2006 and 2007, with 198 recipients in the Class of 2007 and 249 in the Class of 2008. Other schools that had significant increases in the number of Adams recipients include:

Newton South High School (up 33 students, from 107 to 140)
South High School in Worcester (up 32 students, from 28 to 60)
Holyoke High School (up 26 students, from 44 to 70)
Boston Latin Academy (up 23 students, from 179 to 202)
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School (up 23 students, from 35 to 58)

In Massachusetts, the average tuition per year is $734 at community colleges, $957 at state colleges and $1,618 at the University of Massachusetts. Recipients are still responsible for the cost of fees, books and other expenses. Fees vary from school to school, but average $2,927 each year at community colleges, $5,173 each year at state colleges and $7,687 each year at the University of Massachusetts. As the state's largest merit-based tuition waiver program, the Adams Scholarship is meant to supplement the $93 million in state financial aid administered each year to Massachusetts residents. The scholarship was signed into law in 2004 as part of Gov. Romney's Legacy of Learning initiative.

Last Updated: November 14, 2007