For the first time ever, more than half of Louisiana’s high school graduates in 2017 were eligible for TOPS scholarships to attend college, according to the state’s Department of Education.
About 52 percent of 2017’s graduates statewide qualified for TOPS, according to a news release from the department. The increase in eligible students marks a gain of 18 percent since 2012, when 16,289 of graduates, or 45 percent, qualified for the scholarship program.
Eligibility is up in each of the four TOPS award categories, both compared with last year and with 2012, the department said.
In a released statement, Louisiana Superintendent John White called rising TOPS eligibility among graduates “another testament to the great work happening in K-12 classrooms across the state to prepare our students for success after high school.”
| Number of students eligible for TOPS awards from 2012-2017 | |||||
| 2017 | 19,220 | 3,220 | 4,235 | 6,662 | 5,103 |
| 2016 | 18,373 | 3,084 | 4,130 | 6,565 | 4,594 |
| 2015 | 17,955 | 2,793 | 4,074 | 6,800 | 4,318 |
| 2014 | 18,034 | 2,697 | 3,881 | 6,787 | 4,669 |
| 2013 | 17,438 | 2,551 | 3,893 | 6,718 | 4,276 |
| 2012 | 16,289 | 2,215 | 3,733 | 6,479 | 3,862 |
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