Page 68 - EW August 2023

International News

UNITED STATES have a smaller chance of getting in, and they are more likely
Race admissions ban fallout to be put off by the eye-watering sticker prices of the elite
universities.
Public universities could also experiment with “top per-
cent” schemes of the kind that legislators in Texas devised
after banning race-conscious admissions in the 1990s. Its
public universities began granting students who graduated
in the top 10 percent of their high-school class automatic
entry. The theory is that this can give bright kids who excel
in underperforming schools, whatever their background,
the same chance of going to a leading public university as
children with more advantages.
A third idea is to ramp up wealth-based affirmative ac-
tion, which remains legal. Youngsters from the poorest fifth
of households make up 17 percent of all high-school gradu-
ates but only 8 percent of entrants to the 200 or so most-
selective colleges; those odds are as bad as for any racial
Pro-judgement support before US Supreme Court group. Granting some degree of advantage to clever-but-
impecunious applicants would boost diversity more than
FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, ADMISSIONS of- doing nothing, while also providing opportunity to the least
ficers at some of America’s swankiest universities privileged white and Asian youth.
have given a leg up to black, Hispanic and Na-
tive American students whose achievements in secondary BRITIAN
school might not, on their own, have won them a place. On Contrarian trend
June 29, the Supreme Court declared this practice uncon-
stitutional, ruling in a decision authored by Chief Justice AFTER 13 YEARS OF CONSERVATIVE govern-
John Roberts, that neither public nor private universities ment, the country’s public services are in less than
may use race as a factor when deciding which students to fine fettle. There is an exception. Under the Con-
admit. The judgement by the conservative court could cause servatives, England’s schools have improved. England is
a swift, sharp drop in the number of students from these now the best in the West when it comes to reading at pri-
minority groups who go to America’s best campuses. But mary-school age, according to one ranking. When it comes
it could also spur changes that make university admissions to maths, English students of the same age have improved
more progressive. compared with their European peers (even if they lag Asian
Since their birth in the 1960s, race-conscious admis- ones). Scotland, whose progressive education system is
sions policies had survived a number of challenges at the loathed by Tories, has dribbled down the table. Historically,
Supreme Court. The ruling that has finally eliminated them England was a laggard; now it’s ahead.
arose from a pair of cases first brought in 2014 by Students Smaller targets have been met, too. More students study
for Fair Admissions, an organisation founded by Edward sciences and maths, as the Tories wanted. Maths has be-
Blum, a long-time opponent of racial preferences, against come the most popular subject at A-level, the exams Eng-
Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at lish students write at 18. Watered-down GES, the exams
Chapel Hill. By a vote of 6-3, the court agreed that system- children write at 16, have been replaced by more rigorous
atic considerations of race in admissions decisions violate versions. In 2010, 68 percent of schools were rated good or
the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. outstanding by inspectors. Now the figure is 88 percent. In a
What will now happen in other states — and in America’s stint of government in which achievements are few, schools
highly selective private non-profit universities, which until stand out. What went right?
now have not been affected by state bans — depends in part For starters, the Conservatives had a plan. Before win-
on whether universities concoct alternative ways to enroll ning the 2010 general election, they had spent five years in
underrepresented minorities. Many bright students say opposition mulling school reforms, diagnosing the prob-
they value diversity on campus. lems the system faced. The original sin, according to Nick
Elite universities will probably start by redoubling ef- Gibb, the then-shadow and incumbent schools minister,
forts to get black, Hispanic and Native American students was progressive education, which focused too much on
to apply in the first place. Low application volumes are the teaching children how to think rather than teaching them
biggest direct obstacle to their enrolment. That these young- what they should know. Then they worked out how they
sters are less likely than white and Asian ones to have top wanted to fix it. Curriculums would be overhauled. Reading,
grades is only part of the explanation: they also believe they writing and maths would trump other topics. Policies such

68 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2023