Page 58 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
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šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
ber of these students to underperform in and sometimes even drop out
of college. According to some estimates, the dropout rates for black stu-
dents at elite institutions is noticeably high when compared to graduation
rates of black students from historically black colleges and universities – a
set of findings leading some to suggest that perhaps the most academical-
ly promising black students are better served if they attend HBCUs rath-
er than ivy league colleges or other elite institutions.16
If race-based admissions policies were altogether eradicated and re-
placed with Percent Plans, some of this stigma is likely to persist. There
would, in fact, be an automatic assumption on the part of white and Asian
students that students from underrepresented racial minority groups,
such as black, Latino, and Native American students are only there be-
cause they performed well in high schools where the standard of academ-
ic achievement was low. But even then, the “bite” of this kind of stigma
would surely be less because it would be clear to everyone that the bulk
of the students attending a specific elite institution are only there because
they are performed really well in some previous setting and not simply be-
cause they have any particular phenotype or skin tone.
Second, Percent Plans are better at eradicating stigma than univer-
sal access is. If universal access were to be provided, most people would in-
variably persist with the assumption that black and Latino students are
not academically promising and that they are only there because the state
provides the service free of charge. Universal free access to college educa-
tion is also expensive and can become a drain on a state’s resources. There-
fore, if indeed universal access were to be provided, it would make sense
to combine this with a version of a Percent Plan that ignores or deempha-
sizes standardized test scores. If this were not to be the case, and we went
ahead with a universal access plan that did not take into account merit,
then we would be faced with a difficult situation. Because there are only
a finite number of seats in a state school’s flagship or elite campus – ad-
missions officers would end up handpicking the students who would at-
tend the elite campuses and, in so doing, they would be looking at stand-
ardized test scores and other things like extracurricular activities to make
admissions decisions. In such a situation we would be back to square one,
and end up admitting a white-and-Asian-majority student body to elite
campuses because they will be more likely to have better scores and “bet-
ter” resumes than the majority of the students from underrepresented ra-
cial minority groups.
16 National Public Radio. “Is It Time To End Affirmative Action?” November 21, 2007,
http://www.npr.org/2007/11/21/16337441/is-it-time-to-end-affirmative-action.
56
ber of these students to underperform in and sometimes even drop out
of college. According to some estimates, the dropout rates for black stu-
dents at elite institutions is noticeably high when compared to graduation
rates of black students from historically black colleges and universities – a
set of findings leading some to suggest that perhaps the most academical-
ly promising black students are better served if they attend HBCUs rath-
er than ivy league colleges or other elite institutions.16
If race-based admissions policies were altogether eradicated and re-
placed with Percent Plans, some of this stigma is likely to persist. There
would, in fact, be an automatic assumption on the part of white and Asian
students that students from underrepresented racial minority groups,
such as black, Latino, and Native American students are only there be-
cause they performed well in high schools where the standard of academ-
ic achievement was low. But even then, the “bite” of this kind of stigma
would surely be less because it would be clear to everyone that the bulk
of the students attending a specific elite institution are only there because
they are performed really well in some previous setting and not simply be-
cause they have any particular phenotype or skin tone.
Second, Percent Plans are better at eradicating stigma than univer-
sal access is. If universal access were to be provided, most people would in-
variably persist with the assumption that black and Latino students are
not academically promising and that they are only there because the state
provides the service free of charge. Universal free access to college educa-
tion is also expensive and can become a drain on a state’s resources. There-
fore, if indeed universal access were to be provided, it would make sense
to combine this with a version of a Percent Plan that ignores or deempha-
sizes standardized test scores. If this were not to be the case, and we went
ahead with a universal access plan that did not take into account merit,
then we would be faced with a difficult situation. Because there are only
a finite number of seats in a state school’s flagship or elite campus – ad-
missions officers would end up handpicking the students who would at-
tend the elite campuses and, in so doing, they would be looking at stand-
ardized test scores and other things like extracurricular activities to make
admissions decisions. In such a situation we would be back to square one,
and end up admitting a white-and-Asian-majority student body to elite
campuses because they will be more likely to have better scores and “bet-
ter” resumes than the majority of the students from underrepresented ra-
cial minority groups.
16 National Public Radio. “Is It Time To End Affirmative Action?” November 21, 2007,
http://www.npr.org/2007/11/21/16337441/is-it-time-to-end-affirmative-action.
56
