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Affirmative Action Disadvantages

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Affirmative Action Standardized tests and Opportunity for all
Theresa Eier
Walla Walla Community College

Abstract Affirmative action policy is a deliberate effort to provide full and equal opportunities in education and the work force to individuals belonging to disadvantaged groups. In institutions of higher education, affirmative action refers to admission policies that provide equal access to education for minorities who have been historically excluded or under represented. Affirmative action has increased minority access to business and professional careers that were once denied. Affirmative action in the United States began with efforts to eliminate discrimination practices after the Civil Rights Movement. The use of race as a factor in the college admission process has been a topic of debate for years. Critics of affirmative …show more content…

On average SAT scores for whites exceed those of black and Latinos. Standardized testing for college admission began as a way for students to overcome social and economic disadvantages they may have experienced when applying to elite schools. Ironically lower socioeconomic status of the individuals and the primary schools from which they attend consistently average lower test scores in all areas of academia. Minorities are overwhelmingly concentrated in the lowest achieving schools and are more apt to experience poverty. Affirmative action not only gives equal opportunities in education to minorities but also the opportunity to overcome socioeconomic barriers that would be impossible to overcome if affirmative action were to be banned. Affirmative action gives qualified minorities a chance to succeed and pursue careers in education that would otherwise be denied because of a test score. Abort affirmative action and the underrepresented minority enrollment would decline

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