The Importance Of Diversity In College Campuses

U.S. News ranks Harvard University as the number one college in the world. Harvard University is also a perfect example of discrimination based on race in that they are bound to a system of quotas. Before covering the racial disparities at Harvard, it must be noted that while the SAT is not a perfect evaluation of students’ abilities, it is still

Racial diversity is something that is often discussed on college campuses. As a student who self-identifies as a minority in more ways than one I often feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the subject of racism and race. However, often times when these issue are discussed I learn something new; this was the case when reading the articles this week. This week’s articles examined the issue of race from different perspectives. This allowed me to re-examine the issue in a fuller manner; it also allowed me to question some of my own notions that I hadn’t really challenged before.

Einstein once said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Likewise, if a poor test-taker is judged by their SAT score, they could be forced to attend an inadequate institute of higher education. For decades, the SAT has been “the test” that makes or breaks a student's chances of getting into their top college. Generally, the privileged populace do well, but minorities and women do not come out as strong and are therefore limited to college choice. The SAT has proven to be an unsuitable, biased method for predicting success of students in college.

Since 2001, studies performed by the Princeton Review “show persistent… race bias in both the SAT and the ACT… The SAT favors white males, who tend to score better than all other groups, except Asian American males” (Zwick). Across the US, race bias is being displayed by the SAT and ACT tests. The SAT tends to cater to white males, while minorities and women are left with lower schools. Herman Aguinis along with being a professor at George Washington University and a chairman in The Kelley School of Business is also a researcher and professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. Aguinis and his colleagues took a closer look at approximately 1,368 SAT takers who enroll in college annually. Their result show that 221,697 students attend colleges where a bias toward men and women based on the math component of the SAT is present (Unfair Bias in Standardized Tests?). Minorities and women are most likely not to submit test scores when given the option (Straws). Rebecca Zwick, professor in the Department of Education at the Gevirtz School states that “A 1994 College Board study found that there were on average, under predictions [of College GPAs] for Asian American students (and to a lesser extent white students) and over predictions for American Indian, black, and hispanic students” (Zwick). Predictions of college success for minority groups, such as Asian, American Indian, black, and Hispanic students, are unreliable. SAT scores were predicting higher or lower college GPAs than what was actually being acquired by these minority groups. The NACAC report of the commission on the use of standardized tests in undergraduate admission express concern that admissions test scores “calcify differences based on class, race/ethnicity, and parental educational attainment” (Rizzo). This prejudice towards minorities

SAT scores are inconsistent since they are directly correlated with average family income. Studies show that the average SAT score for students (out of 2400) in families earning up to $20,000 is 1326, whereas students in families earning over $200,000 receive an average score of 1714. This discrepancy is likely caused by unequal test preparation. Those with an average income of less than $20,000 tend to be families that cannot afford proper coaching, but those earning over $200,000 can afford as much coaching as they want. In other words, wealthier students are able to surpass the poorer students through “gaming the system”—bringing their score up hundreds of points through hundreds of dollars worth of private college counseling as well as through hefty amounts of practice tests. This also means that if

If this is true and GPA and school activity involvement are more important, then why is the SAT even considered? Brandon Busteed, an executive director of Gallup Education, ran a study including 2,586 superintendents around his area. According to his results, “...Only six percent of superintendents strongly agree that SAT and ACT scores are the best predictors of college success” (Brandon Busteed).  This shows that even educators feel that the SAT lacks a true purpose. How can any college determine a student's study habits, work ethic, or community involvement through a number? Jennifer Finney Boylan, a professor at Colby College, states, “The only way to measure students’ potential is to look at the complex portrait of their lives; what their schools are like; how they’ve done in their courses; what they’ve chosen to study; what progress they’ve made over time; how they’ve reacted to adversity” (Hambrick & Chabris). Although other factors are not ignored, including involvement and high school GPA, there is still immense pressure to do well on the SATs. Busteed states, “We’re not just overinvesting in standardized testing, we’re actually testing standardization. That is to say, most standardized tests are designed to have students come up with the same answers. We’re teaching them how to be similar, not different” (2015). This shows the negative effects that the SAT has on

Based on the first school of thought, scholars argue that racial inequality plays a significant role in the SAT. Many scholars expand on the idea that SAT testing limits racial diversity and builds a racial gap. (Brookings) Among many studies, Saul Geiser found that the most influential factor in account to testing variation is based on race. According to his findings, he has determined that “race has now become more influential than either family income or parental education as a determinant of test performance”. (Geiser, 2015) Other scholars state that although the SAT scores can predict student success in higher education institutions, the SAT score also reflects racial inequalities. (Shaw, 2015). Initially, the need for standardized testing

The SAT is unfair to students of color due to its racist background. Originally this test had been created by Carl Brigham (Prois). This man believed that whites had superior traits to other races across the world. By making this test he believed it proved

According to Zwick’s research, “Academic researchers investigate the fairness of the SAT based on how well it predicts college grades for each racial group” (321). Rather than arguing for racial bias on the SAT like Lemann, Zwick argues that such bias does not exist. Unlike Lemann, she does not believe that the SAT underestimates racial subgroup’s scores, rather, she claims “ [that] SAT scores tend to predict higher college grades than were actually attained by African-American, Latin, and American Indian students and lower grades than were actually attained by Asian American and white students” (321). Zwick explains how the SAT helps minorities get into the college of their choice, not how it hinders them. In fact, in the UC system, “the main barrier of all ethnic groups in admissions is the failure to complete college preparatory courses” (324). Now she qualifies her argument by agreeing with Lemann on the way to successfully and efficiently integrate students of all ethnicities into colleges: “improve K-12 education so that college applicants will be better prepared for the SAT” (324). By making a strong, uniform high school curriculum, all students will be equipped with the core fundamentals of learning, which will better their chances of joining the elite. Like Lemann, she desires to help the meritocratic system become a fair system for all

The issue with the SAT test is a dilemma when it comes to certain subgroups in this country, even though it seems to maintain its effectiveness for others depending upon race, ethnicity, and gender. Colleges and universities administrators, testing agencies and psychometricians should reassess the use of the SAT’s as the only means of admissions and develop new criteria for admissions for higher education.

Jill Tiefenthaler, a professor of economics, says “It is time to rethink college admissions, and particularly the role of standardized testing. With only marginal predictive value for performance in college, standardized scores do nothing to suggest what a student might contribute to the character and vitality of an intellectual community” (usnews.com). In other words, SAT scores should not have a big impact on your admission because it does not show what you can bring to the table besides your intelligence, or lack of intelligence. Another article says, “The SAT does not measure the skills needed for college, and it certainly does not predict how well I am going to do in college classes. In fact, studies have shown that high school grades are a better predictor of grades in college than an SAT score” (pennlive.com). This proves that SAT scores do not accurately measure your aptitude for college, and should not be relied upon heavily by colleges. High school GPA should be more weighted than SAT scores because, many people put a lot of effort into the SAT so they can have stronger scores, yet all throughout high school they have slacked off. GPA is the result of hundreds of tests; the SAT scores are the result of one

When colleges give the option where you do not have to submit test scores it usually increases applications. When schools reject more applicants they appear to be more selective. But the people in admissions look at it as though it is an opportunity for people who don't fare well on standardized tests, minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged. Although studies have shown that SAT and ACT predict freshman G.P.A. when combined with a students high school grade-point average, a new study found that the quality of the student does not suffer when the test scores are removed. A question that was asked throughout the process was: “Are the test-optional policies actually affecting diversity on campus?”

If this claim were true, we should not see certain groups of people consistently scoring lower than other groups. Jay Rosner, the executive director of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) did an analysis of questionnaires and found that the majority of questions were biased especially in favor of whites, males, and wealthier students. He compared males to females and Whites to Latinos, as well as White to Black. What he found sheds light on the entrance test development process and could also explain why we do not see items biased in different groups favor actually cancel each other out and why we continue to see score gaps between some groups. Monica Rizzo analyzed

It has already been shown that standardized tests are fairly biased, across both race and socioeconomic status. Because such tests play a large role in most college admissions decisions, many students are kept from attending colleges solely because of their test scores. Shifting the focus away from test scores helps disadvantaged and minority students gain recognition, especially when their intelligence is in areas that aren’t measured by standardized tests. As Geiser argues, standardized test scores correlate strongly with income level, whereas GPAs do not; thus, GPA is actually a more standardized approach toward measuring success, at least in the areas in which standardized tests are most heavily biased. Furthermore, both Hiss and the Tufts study found that students in the test-optional or unconventional admissions approaches were more likely to be underrepresented minority students, proving that such college programs are providing opportunities to students who otherwise likely would not have been

Andrew Shue once said, “Life is the most exciting opportunity we have. But we have one shot. one graduate from college once, and that 's it. one 're going out of that nest.” Majority of students want to attend college but are hesitant. How can they get graduate from college that one time if they are never given the opportunity. Prohibited, whether because of grades or the cost, they still have an obstacle that stops them from attending. Some feel that students were not able to attend college because of ACT and SAT scores. Colleges are considering changing the college admission requirement. This means not looking at standardized test scores. Studies show that the test is biased towards a specific demographic group and race. Requirements for college admission should be used fair to everyone and at the same level of education. Although the ACT and SAT have been used to determine if majority of students get accepted into college, but because it shows that test are bias towards a certain demographic group it’s being considered that they should be discontinued.