The use of factors other than race to bring student diversity to
campuses such as UCLA is a process that has proven successful
before “”mdash; until the supporting research was set aside.
We published an editorial Wednesday advocating a form of
affirmative action that would reward applicants for performance
within their family and school context.
But before such a system could be put in place, the university
would have to produce a concrete evaluation process to identify
students who merit admission.
Important research was done to this end by the Educational
Testing Service back in 1999 until the College Board, frightened of
a backlash, tabled the research.
As the backbone of a merit-based affirmative action policy, it
needs to be reinstated.
This research would tell colleges when a student scored higher
on the SATs than they should have given criteria such as their high
school, parents’ education and socio-economic background.
It would reward hard work and motivation, rather than race and
ethnicity.
UCLA’s recently released selection guidelines for
applicants says it wants character, motivation, tenacity and
initiative. Let’s start researching how to find those
people.