Affirmative Action in Higher Education after the Seattle and Louisville Decisions: Reexamining the Socioeconomic Alternative

1
Affirmative Action in Higher Education after the
Seattle and Louisville DecisionsReexamining the
Socioeconomic Alternative

• AAAS/NACME Roundtable
• Richard D. Kahlenberg
• January 15, 2008

2
The Impact of Seattle and Louisville on Higher
Education

• Grutter Reaffirmed, but 4 Storm Clouds
• Justice Alito vs. Justice OConnor
• Merit-based Selection in Higher Education even
  more vulnerable than K-12
• Public Opinion and Ballot Initiatives Could Sway
  Court
• Kennedy Enforcing More Vigorously the
  Race-Neutral Alternatives Requirement

3
Economic Diversity at Selective Institutions
Source Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose,
Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity and
Selective College Admissions, in Richard D.
Kahlenberg (ed), Americas Untapped Resource Low
Income Students in Higher Education (The Century
Foundation, 2004), p. 106, Table 3.1.
4
Economic Affirmative Action

• Carnevale and Rose Simulation of Economic
  Affirmative Action in Top 146 colleges.
• Pool consisting of
• (1) all students who have good grades and score
  above 1300 on the SAT (or the ACT equivalent),
  plus
• (2) economically disadvantaged students with
  high grades and test scores (between 1000 and
  1300 on the SAT).

5
Economic Affirmative Action

• Economic disadvantage defined as
• (1) being in the bottom 40 percent by
  socioeconomic status (defined as parents income,
  education, and occupation) and/or
• (2) attending high schools with a high
  percentage (gt25) of students eligible for free
  and reduced price lunch or low percentage (lt25)
  of seniors going on to four year colleges.
• Lottery admissions within this pool of
  students.
• The top 146 colleges represent the most
  selective 10 percent of four-year colleges and
  are at the heart of the debate over affirmative
  action policies.

Source Carnevale and Rose, Socioeconomic
Status, p. 139.
6
Economic Diversity
Source Carnevale and Rose, Socioeconomic
Status, pp. 141, 142 and 149.
7
Racial Diversity
Source Carnevale and Rose, Socioeconomic
Status, pp. 141, 142 and 148.
8
Boosting Racial Diversity

• Additional Factors Not Employed By Carnevale and
  Rose Should Increase Racial Diversity Further
• Neighborhood Poverty
• Black families with incomes in excess of 60,000
  live in neighborhoods with higher poverty rates
  than white families earning less than 30,000.
• Source Daryl Fears, Disparity Marks Black
  Ethnic Groups, Report Says, Washington Post,
  March 9, 2003, p. A7.
• Net Worth/Wealth
• While black median income is 62 percent of white
  median income, black median net worth is just 12
  percent of white median net worth.
• Source Edward N. Wolff, Top Heavy The
  Increasing Inequality of Wealth in America and
  What Can Be Done About It (New York New Press,
  2002), p. 20, Table 4.1.

9
Boosting Racial Diversity

• Single Parent family
• In 2006, 65 of American American children raised
  in single parent households compared with 23 of
  white children.
• Source Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count
  2008.

10
Experiments in Economic Affirmative Action

• University of California comprehensive
  reviewexamining academic accomplishments in
  light of such obstacles as low family income,
  first generation to attend college, and
  disadvantaged social or educational
  environment.
• University of Washington academic achievement
  in the context of such factors as family income,
  number in family, parents educational level,
  and high school free lunch percent.
• University of Florida Profile Assessment a
  leg up to students who are poor, attend a low
  performing high school, or whose parents didnt
  attend college.

11
Experiments in Economic Affirmative Action

• University Texas considers obstacles such as
  the socioeconomic background of the applicant,
  whether the applicant would be the first
  generation of his or her family to attend or
  graduate from an institution of higher
  education, and the financial status of the
  applicants school district.
• University of California at Los Angeles Law
  School academic accomplishments in light of
  highest level of education attained by parents
  parent primary occupation number of years spent
  in a single-parent home age of applicant at the
  time of a parents death (if applicable) total
  parent income and assets during the previous year
  and explanation, if given, if level of income was
  different during applicants high school years
  number of hours worked per week during college
  years and any statement provided describing
  socioeconomic disadvantages overcome.

12
Economic and Racial Diversity at UCLA Law School
UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law UCLA School of Law
Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary Fall 2002 SES Admission Summary
SES SES SES All Others All Others All Others
Apps Admits Enrolled Apps Admits Enrolled
Native American 1 0 0 46 7 2
African American 30 19 8 331 13 5
Chicano/Latino 51 26 13 478 36 11
Asian 63 20 17 1221 158 37
White 86 30 17 2521 400 129
Other/Unknown 57 16 9 1724 234 57
Total 288 111 64 6321 848 241
Source Andrea Sossin-Bergman, director of
admissions, UCLA Law School, November 2002
13
Economic and Racial Diversity at UCLA Law School
Source Sossin-Bergman, November 2002
14
Economic Affirmative Action Public Support
Source EPIC/MRA poll (conducted January
29February 3, 2003) Los Angeles Times poll
(conducted January 30February 2, 2003) and
Newsweek poll (conducted January 1617, 2003).
15
Economic Affirmative Action Graduation Rates
Source Carnevale and Rose, Socioeconomic
Status, p. 149
16
Contact Information and Sources

• Richard D. Kahlenberg
• Senior Fellow
• The Century Foundation
• 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
• Washington, D.C. 20036
• 202-745-5476
• kahlenberg_at_tcf.org
• www.tcf.org www.equaleducation.org
• Americas Untapped Resource Low-Income Students
  in Higher Education (Century Foundation Press,
  2004), edited by Richard D. Kahlenberg, with
  chapters by Anthony Carnevale and Stephen Rose
  Michael Timpane and Arthur Hauptman and Lawrence
  Gladieux.
• Richard D. Kahlenberg, The Remedy Class, Race,
  and Affirmative Action (New York Basic Books,
  1996)