Opinion by Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell

Throughout history, Alaska has sparked dreams and possibilities. In sharp contrast, today's opportunity is snuffed out when nearly 40 percent of Alaska's youth do not complete high school in four years and where two-thirds of incoming students at the University of Alaska require remedial coursework.

For our students entering college, only 20 percent graduate within six years. These dead-end results for individuals become even more costly when one considers the cumulative impact on Alaska's economy, especially where our aging workforce needs young people ready to work.

What innovative thinking will change the status quo? The answer lies, in part, in the ingenuity and creativity of our people. It begins with giving teenagers the opportunity to earn a real, meaningful shot at their dreams.

Patrick Taylor tackled issues like ours in an inspiring way. Taylor, a successful Louisiana entrepreneur, visited an inner-city school and spoke to 183 students who were on a downward trajectory. They had neither current success nor vision for their future. Taylor promised to fund college for those students who maintained a minimum B average, took the appropriate preparatory classes and stayed out of trouble. Many of those students accepted his offer to work toward academic success in exchange for having their college tuition paid.

Soon after, the Louisiana Legislature initiated a statewide merit scholarship project centered on “a student's ability to learn, not the ability to pay.” Since 1989, TOPS (Tuition Opportunity Program for Students) has revolutionized Louisiana's education system and charted a positive course for thousands of young people.

To date, 22 other states have adopted a merit scholarship policy based on Louisiana's scholarship plan. Wyoming's Hathaway Plan could provide a model for Alaska. Hathaway is a tiered scholarship program that reaches to the C+ level to provide incremental levels of scholarship funding based on corresponding levels of high school grade point achievement.

For example, if a Wyoming high school student completes four years each of high school math and science, two years of a foreign language, and maintains a C+ grade point average, Wyoming will pay 50 percent of that student's tuition to a Wyoming university or trade school. If that same child maintained a B average, Wyoming pays 75 percent of his or her post-secondary tuition; and if the child maintained an A average, Wyoming pays 100 percent.

Wyoming's Hathaway scholarships for academic performance can be used at Wyoming university campuses or community colleges for technical certificates in the state, and current legislative efforts aim to expand these opportunities for job skills training.

Because Louisiana started these scholarships 18 years ago, we can look at objective measures of improvement. Students taking the core curriculum scored significantly higher on standardized tests. Louisiana's high school graduation rate increased from 28 percent to 46 percent, and its college graduation rate increased from 44 percent to 60 percent in the same period.

Previously, 35 percent of incoming freshmen at Louisiana State University, the state's flagship college, required remediation, but today, LSU no longer offers remedial courses because incoming students are better prepared. With merit scholarships, more students are ready for post-secondary education - whether college or job training programs.

Additionally, more go on to post-secondary education and successfully complete it sooner. Merit-based scholarship programs result in increased K-12 parental involvement and a better-trained workforce. The next generation is taught that with initiative, diligence and hard work, opportunities abound.

In her State of the State speech, Gov. Sarah Palin called for innovation and change in Alaska's education. Like the governor, I believe that we must look beyond the way things have always been, and appeal to the ingenuity and energy of our young people. The task ahead is to debate merit scholarships, define the criteria for scholarships, and identify a sustainable funding source.

In my view, we should offer the carrot of in-state, post-secondary tuition in exchange for solid high school performance. In doing so, we can call Alaska's youth to earn the opportunity for success.