NYT Interactive Admissions Plotter
The NYT has this fancy, interactive plotter that shows how many Black and Hispanic students will be admitted based on different criteria.
Treating people differently on the bases of race for college admissions is found to be illegal because it is, by definition, racial discrimination. Universities are looking for legal ways around that.
In case the link is removed, the idea is that 10,000 SAT scores were plotted versus the relative income of the parents. Black and Hispanic students don’t tend to have rich parents.
The NYT article looks at four ways to increase Black and Hispanic admissions without racial discrimination.
- Give the poorest kids a 150 point bonus on the SAT.
- Give an additional 150 point bonus for kids coming from poor schools.
- Admit students who have SAT scores way above the average for their schools.
- Use #3, but looking only at poor schools.
The article explores how these strategies would alter the admission demographics.
We need to have a conversation about diversity.
The NYT should say “racial and ethnic diversity”. That’s what they mean. North Royalton High School has 1400 students, 82% of whom are White. I describe it as very diverse because there are 1400 individuals attending. Journalists often describe an urban district, with 90% Black and Hispanic students as very diverse. What they mean is there are a lot of Black and Hispanic kids. Just say that. Be honest about what you mean.
Colleges are fixated on race. They have little interest in viewpoint, economic, political or social class diversity.
The SAT is designed to estimate the likelihood of success in college. It’s not an IQ test, but it’s a related trait. A student with a lower SAT score will struggle at a rigorous university. Admitting that student is doing him no favors. The student will be more likely to drop out or graduate with a lower GPA, than would be the case if he had been admitted to a university where his SAT score was impressive. This embarrasses the university, so standards are lowered to hide the obvious result.
Strategy #4 did the best with a 32% admission rate for Black and Hispanic students. What is the target admission rate?
Who counts as Black? People have lied about being Black. Everyone agrees that President Obama was Black, with a White mom and Black dad. A lot can ride on being in a protected class, so should there be DNA verification? I hope not, that seems too close to the One Drop Rule. How Black is Black enough to get preferential admissions and financial aid.
Race is a vague concept, and should not be used for high-stakes policy. Race and ethnic heritage should be removed from all governmental records.
“Our diversity is our strength.” That is an unsupported or discussed motto reminiscent of Soviet era propaganda.
Smart kids everywhere should have the opportunity to realize their full potential. How about a sliding scale on tuition based on family income. Ben Carson was a poor, but very intelligent child. Students in his situation should have the opportunity to go to the best schools.
Affirmative action led to the decline of prestigious universities because admitting unqualified students required the lowering of standards to hide the poor outcomes. Historically Black colleges avoid this entire discussion. It would not be surprising if they rise to become the elite universities because they weren’t compelled to lower their standards.