Excerpt

After affirmative action: A new way to look at college admissions

By Dale G. Caldwell

The original goal of affirmative action was to increase the number of Black students in four-year colleges and universities. The creators of the program believed this would eventually lead to greater economic prosperity in the Black community and greater diversity at all levels of society throughout the United States. The good news: The program has been very successful over the years. The bad news: People do not realize that because of past racial discrimination, there is still not a statistically proportionate representation of Black people in the most successful sectors of American society.

A study released this month by researchers from Harvard and Brown universities concluded that affluent students collectively place much higher on admissions rubrics when it comes to SAT/ACT scores and a category often referred to as “non-academic ratings,” including factors like extracurriculars, athletics and other enrichment activities. It makes sense: Students who live in an economically strong two-parent household have the money to pay for extensive academic tutoring and a top SAT/ACT prep course, as well as the ability to take the test multiple times for a higher score. Similarly, these students benefit from application-boosting amenities like elite athletics coaching and opportunities to travel abroad.