TOPS Report: Analysis of the TOPS Program, 2011-2020
Author: Louisiana Board of Regents
Date: 2021-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Tuition,College Entrance Examinations,High School Graduates,Eligibility,College Bound Students,Academic Persistence,School Holding Power,Time to Degree,Awards,Educational Finance,State Programs,Program Evaluation,Scores,Secondary School Curriculum,Core Curriculum,Grade Point Average,State Legislation,Student Participation,Student Financial Aid,Student Characteristics,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,Gender Differences,Family Income,Graduation Rate

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered post-secondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session requires the Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR) to prepare a report analyzing various aspects of the TOPS program. Act 227 of the 2015 Regular Legislative Session modifies prior law to clarify and specify data points without making any substantive changes to the program. In accordance with Act 227, this report includes: (1) An analysis of the relationship between high school courses taken and the student's score on the American College Test (ACT); (2) The number of high school graduates who are eligible for TOPS and subsequently enroll in college; (3) Persistence (retention) rates of TOPS recipients; (4) The number of and reasons for students losing award eligibility; (5) Graduation data; and (6) TOPS time-to-degree and degree attainment information. Act 587 of the 2014 Regular Legislative Session added new reporting requirements to the TOPS report, including: (1) Demographic information of program award recipients (race, gender, parents' income); (2) High school GPA and ACT scores of program award recipients grouped by mean; and (3) Average high school GPA and average ACT scores of students who lost the award. The information in the report includes current and historical data on TOPS students (students receiving an &quot;Opportunity,&quot; &quot;Performance,&quot; or &quot;Honors&quot; Award) and, where appropriate non-TOPS students to allow for comparison. Act 227 requires that this report be submitted annually to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education by December 1. Due to the deadline specified in the language of Act 227, the data pull ends at the 2019-2020 academic year, therefore, COVID-19 effects are not referenced in this report. Overall, the findings indicated that: (1) From 2011 to 2020, 86.7% of students deemed eligible for a TOPS award accepted the award by enrolling in a post-secondary education institution in Louisiana. This represents an increase of 5% from last year; (2) The average ACT score of all TOPS recipients between 2011 and 2021 was 24 and the average high school GPA (Core GPA) was 3.44; (3) From 2010-2011 to 2019-2020, the majority of TOPS recipients were white(72.5%) and female (58.7%); (4) Students who begin college with a TOPS award persist and graduate at a higher rate than non-TOPS students; (5) The average time-to-degree for TOPS recipients pursuing an associate's degree is 3.9 years, compared with 6.2 years for non-TOPS; and (6) The average time-to-degree for TOPS recipients pursuing a baccalaureate degree is 4.5 years, compared with 7.4 years for non-TOPS. [For &quot;TOPS Report: Analysis of the TOPS Program, 2010-2019,&quot; see ED625456.]