S P O N S O R E D B Y :
Affirmative-Action Foes Twist the Facts
By Jennifer Millman
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Who funds the
anti-affirmative-action movement? Read DiversityInc next week to find out why
you haven't read about this in the news.
Affirmative-action foes long have
gained support by distorting the data to further their political agenda. Now
with just two weeks to go until the vote on the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
(MCRI)—a proposal to ban affirmative action in public education, employment and
contracting—they've done it again.
The Center for Equal Opportunity
(CEO)—a conservative think-tank opposed to affirmative action—conducted three
independent studies of admissions at the University of Michigan (UM)
undergraduate, law and medical schools. Relying exclusively on admissions-odds
ratios, CEO concludes that preferences are more pronounced than when the Supreme
Court struck down UM's quota-based undergraduate-admissions policies in 2003.
CEO maintains preferences are more pronounced in both graduate and undergraduate
admissions, but even a cursory look at the data shows this is
wrong.
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Consider
UM Medical School admissions, for example. In 1999, blacks and Latinos comprised
10 percent of the applicant pool and 19 percent of admittees; whites were 58
percent and 62 percent, respectively. In 2005, blacks and
Latinos comprised 11 percent of the applicant pool and 13 percent of
admittees; whites were 57 percent and 63 percent, respectively.
The
increase in applicants of color can be attributed, at least in part, to their
increased representation in the population. Whites may make up a smaller
portion of the applicant pool, but even CEO's data show they are still being
admitted at a higher rate than blacks and Latinos.
The real
impact
CEO
Chairman Linda Chavez says in her statement, "Perhaps the most disheartening
evidence in the CEO studies, however, was that racial preferences don't even
help the intended beneficiaries succeed in college. Based on college GPAs
…"
If higher education is charged
with preparing students for the work force, it is illogical to evaluate
"success" by college GPAs. Not only are these poor indicators of students'
capacities, there is no significant correlation between how students fare in
higher education and how they perform in the workplace, according to a 2005
study by researchers from the Urban Institute and the University of California
at Irvine. Despite
lower college grades, these students benefit from higher graduation rates and
higher salaries later in life.
"It is simply erroneous to believe
that university admissions have ever operated as simple meritocracies, in which
slots have been rationed according to grades and test scores alone," the
researchers write. "The preferences of university officials across types of
students are complex and multi-dimensional … the 'inefficiency' of the matching
process at universities cannot be simply measured by observed gaps between
whites and minorities in grades or test scores—even where those gaps are
substantial, and even where they are at least partly attributable to Affirmative
Action policy."
CEO argues that the university's
policies consistently encourage admission of black and Latino candidates who are
less "qualified" than white applicants. But its sole determinant of "quality" is
numerical—GPAs, SAT or ACT, and LSAT and MCAT scores for the three institutions,
respectively. This diminishes the totality of candidates'
applications—high-school rigor, extracurricular activities, personal essays and
recommendations, and socioeconomic status, which unduly prevents black and
Latino students from accessing many of the college-preparatory classes that more
white students are privy to because of their backgrounds.
Per-capita income for blacks and
Latinos in Michigan remains significantly lower than that
of whites—$16,760, $15,306 and $26,241, respectively, according to the Census
Bureau.
"CEO attempts to reduce human
beings to a couple of simplistic numbers," University of
Michigan spokesperson Julie
Peterson said in a statement. "No top university admits students solely on the
basis of grades and test scores. We consider many factors in order to admit a
group of students who have diverse talents, who are highly motivated and who
have the potential to succeed at
Michigan and make a contribution
to the learning environment."
Why diversity matters: UM law and
medical schools
University of Michigan Law School
alumni of color are equally as likely as white alumni to pass at least one state
bar, practice law successfully and consistently, and earn higher incomes,
according to research by the University of Michigan Center for the Education of
Women, which tracked alumni data dating back to 1970. In addition, alumni of
color were also more likely to be involved in community work and leadership
roles.
The persistent disparities in
healthcare underscore the need for diversity within the medical profession.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 51 percent of black
and 33 percent of Latino medical students matriculating in 2004 planned to
practice in underserved areas, compared with 18 percent of whites.
Stay tuned for more DiversityInc
in-depth coverage of the campaign to save affirmative action in
Michigan and what you can do to
help.
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