Chilling Admissions

Chilling Admissions
Author: Gary Orfield
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
Total Pages: 154
Release: 1998
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This book, produced by the Harvard Civil Rights Project, focuses on the consequences for student body diversity of eliminating race and ethnicity as factors in university admissions. The more specific focus is on what would happen if college admissions relied entirely on traditional quantitative measures of academic achievement and promise, such as test scores and grade point average. This collection does not address in detail fixing the K-12 pipeline, which civil rights conservatives argue is an adequate substitute for affirmative action in university admissions. The heart of the case for diversity-based affirmative action in admissions (and employment) is that while the attempt to repair the pipeline continues, institutions cannot be allowed to undermine their educational and social missions by excluding capable under-represented minorities. The papers are: (1) "Campus Resegregation and Its Alternatives" (Gary Orfield); (2) "Misconceptions in the Debate Over Affirmative Action in College Admissions" (Thomas J. Kane); (3) "No Alternative: The Effects of Color-Blind Admissions in California" (Jerome Karabel); (4) "Hopwood in Texas: The Untimely End of Affirmative Action" (Jorge Chapa and Vincent A. Lazaro); (5) "The Hopwood Chill: How the Court Derailed Diversity Efforts at Texas A&M" (Susanna Finnell); (6) "Notes from the Field: Higher Education Desegregation in Mississippi" (Robert A. Kronley and Claire V. Handley); (7) "Race and Testing in College Admissions" (Michael T. Nettles, Laura W. Perna, and Catherine M. Millett); (8) "Testing a New Approach to Admissions: The Irvine Experience" (Susan A. Wilbur and Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth); and (9) "An Admissions Process for a Multiethnic Society" (Greg Tanaka, Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth, and Alexander W. Astin). Each paper contains references. (Contains 25 tables and 6 figures.) (SLD)

Who Gets In?

Who Gets In?
Author: Rebecca Zwick
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674977661

When it comes to the hotly disputed topic of college admissions, the one thing everyone agrees about is that it’s unfair. But there is little agreement on what a fair process would be. Rebecca Zwick takes a hard look at the high-stakes competition of U.S. college admissions today. Illustrating her points using analyses of survey data from applicants to the nation’s top colleges and universities, she assesses the goals of different admissions systems and the fairness of criteria—from high school grades and standardized test scores to race, socioeconomic status, and students’ academic aspirations. The demographic makeup of the class and the educational outcomes of its students can vary substantially, depending upon how an institution approaches its task. Who Gets In? considers the merits and flaws of competing approaches and demonstrates that admissions policies can sometimes fail to produce the desired results. For example, some nontraditional selection methods can hurt more than help the students they are intended to benefit. As Zwick shows, there is no objective way to evaluate admissions systems—no universal definition of student merit or blanket entitlement to attend college. Some schools may hope to attract well-rounded students, while others will focus on specific academic strengths. What matters most is that a school’s admissions policy reflects its particular educational philosophy. Colleges should be free to include socioeconomic and racial preferences among their admissions criteria, Zwick contends, but they should strive for transparency about the factors they use to evaluate applicants.

You Decide

You Decide
Author: Edward R. Drachman
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2008
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780742538054

The book is a unique and innovative assembly of 14 originally written cases on controversial topics in American government and politics. It is intended to engage students in active learning through discussion, debate and participation in the introductory American Government course.

Ever the Leader

Ever the Leader
Author: William G. Bowen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1400888921

Ever the Leader gathers together selected speeches and writings from one of the great scholars and commentators of higher education. William G. Bowen’s career at Princeton University—from economics professor to provost to a sixteen-year tenure as president—was marked by extraordinary accomplishments during times of great change, both at the university and in the country. But it was in Bowen’s second act, as president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and founding chairman of ITHAKA, that he took the lessons he learned as a highly productive leader of one of the nation’s most esteemed universities and applied them to a broader set of problems in higher education. This volume of work from Bowen’s later career captures this expansion of his thought and influence. Comprising remarks and articles on the subjects of university values, educational opportunity, college sports, technology, and colleagues and peers in higher education leadership, Ever the Leader is more than just a concise distillation of Bowen’s research and thinking on some of the most urgent issues of the day—it is a portrait of leadership in action. The selected papers, talks, and articles exemplify Bowen’s commitment and singular ability to communicate strong, persuasive arguments for change, and to motivate others to engage with the truly hard questions facing higher education leaders. Filled with formidable insights, Ever the Leader will be required reading for university presidents, policymakers, and all those who carry on the struggle for equity and excellence in higher education.

Common Law Judging

Common Law Judging
Author: Douglas E. Edlin
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2020-03-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0472902342

Are judges supposed to be objective? Citizens, scholars, and legal professionals commonly assume that subjectivity and objectivity are opposites, with the corollary that subjectivity is a vice and objectivity is a virtue. These assumptions underlie passionate debates over adherence to original intent and judicial activism. In Common Law Judging, Douglas Edlin challenges these widely held assumptions by reorienting the entire discussion. Rather than analyze judging in terms of objectivity and truth, he argues that we should instead approach the role of a judge’s individual perspective in terms of intersubjectivity and validity. Drawing upon Kantian aesthetic theory as well as case law, legal theory, and constitutional theory, Edlin develops a new conceptual framework for the respective roles of the individual judge and of the judiciary as an institution, as well as the relationship between them, as integral parts of the broader legal and political community. Specifically, Edlin situates a judge’s subjective responses within a form of legal reasoning and reflective judgment that must be communicated to different audiences. Edlin concludes that the individual values and perspectives of judges are indispensable both to their judgments in specific cases and to the independence of the courts. According to the common law tradition, judicial subjectivity is a virtue, not a vice.

Mismatch

Mismatch
Author: Richard Sander
Publisher:
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2012-10-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0465029965

Argues that affirmative action actually harms minority students and that the movement started in the late 1960s is only a symbolic change that has become mired in posturing, concealment, and pork-barrel earmarks.

Scientific Evidence and Equal Protection of the Law

Scientific Evidence and Equal Protection of the Law
Author: Angelo N Ancheta
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2006-02-02
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0813539315

Scientific and social scientific evidence has informed judicial decisions and the making of constitutional law for decades, but for much of U.S. history it has also served as a rhetorical device to justify inequality. It is only in recent years that scientific and statistical research has helped redress discrimination—but not without controversy. Scientific Evidence and Equal Protection of the Law provides unique insights into the judicial process and scientific inquiry by examining major decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, civil rights advocacy, and the nature of science itself. Angelo Ancheta discusses leading equal protection cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and recent litigation involving race-related affirmative action, gender inequality, and discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also examines less prominent, but equally compelling cases, including McCleskey v. Kemp, which involved statistical evidence that a state’s death penalty was disproportionately used when victims were white and defendants were black, and Castaneda v. Partida, which established key standards of evidence in addressing the exclusion of Latinos from grand jury service. For each case, Ancheta explores the tensions between scientific findings and constitutional values.

Affirmative Action and Racial Equity

Affirmative Action and Racial Equity
Author: Uma M. Jayakumar
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2015-03-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317664663

The highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision in Fisher v. University of Texas placed a greater onus on higher education institutions to provide evidence supporting the need for affirmative action policies on their respective campuses. It is now more critical than ever that institutional leaders and scholars understand the evidence in support of race consideration in admissions as well as the challenges of the post-Fisher landscape. This important volume shares information documented for the Fisher case and provides empirical evidence to help inform scholarly conversation and institutions’ decisions regarding race-conscious practices in higher education. With contributions from scholars and experts involved in the Fisher case, this edited volume documents and shares lessons learned from the collaborative efforts of the social science, educational, and legal communities. Affirmative Action and Racial Equity is a critical resource for higher education scholars and administrators to understand the nuances of the affirmative action legal debate and to identify the challenges and potential strategies toward racial equity and inclusion moving forward.

Achieving Equity for Latino Students

Achieving Equity for Latino Students
Author: Frances E. Contreras
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2015-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 080777152X

Despite their numbers, Latinos continue to lack full and equal participation in all facets of American life, including education. This book provides a critical discussion of the role that select K–12 educational policies have and continue to play in failing Latino students. The author draws upon institutional, national, and statewide data sets, as well as interviews among students, teachers, and college administrators, to explore the role that public policies play in educating Latino students. The book concludes with specific recommendations that aim to raise achievement, college transition rates, and success among Latino students across the preschool through college continuum. Frances Contrerasis an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the area of Leadership and Policy Studies in the College of Education, University of Washington in Seattle “Prof. Frances Contreras is one of the nation’s leading authorities on Latino educational problems and on policies that will effectively address these. This book presents a unique and incisive analysis of the Latino educational achievement gap and its connections to concomitant gap in educational opportunities for Latinos. This very readable book combines rigorous scholarship with clearly stated policy recommendations. It should be read by all who are interested in understanding and addressing one of the most serious problems of our times.” —Jorge Chapa,University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign “Rich in data and social context, Contreras presents a compelling and comprehensive picture for the collective need to invest fully in the education of our Latino youth. As important, she delineates a bold public policy pathway for Latino student success that encompasses K–12 and higher education.” —James M. Montoya,Vice President, Higher Education, The College Board “This book offers valuable insights and productive recommendations for addressing a critically important topic: how to improve educational equity for Latinos, one of our nation’s fastest-growing but most-underserved populations.” —Laura Perna, Professor, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania