Mr Uncle Leroy
All Star
Near the end of oral argument in a high-profile affirmative-action case Wednesday, conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that black students benefit from a “slower track” at less prestigious schools and are thus harmed by affirmative action. The comments come during a time of racial turmoil on campuses across the country, from Yale to the University of Missouri.
“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well — as opposed to having them go to a less advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said from the bench. “One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.”
Scalia went on to say that it could be bad if the “really competent blacks” do not go to these “lesser” schools because they might then not become scientists. “I don’t think it stands to reason for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible,” he concluded.
Scalia appeared to be referencing an amicus brief filed by Gail Heriot of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In her brief, Heriot points to a study that shows minority students are less likely to major in science or engineering if their test scores and grade point averages put them in the bottom half of the admitting class at their institution. Heriot says that if UT actually wanted to help minorities, it would find black students who were admitted to MIT and convince them that their chances of succeeding at UT, which is less selective, are higher. The brief also points out that one-third of blacks who received a doctorate in science or engineering in 2006 got their degrees from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). These colleges, on average, have lower admissions standards than UT.
Multiple studies have looked at this so-called mismatch theory of affirmative action. Some have shown that minority students benefit from attending elite institutions even when their high school backgrounds are weaker than the average class. In another brief in front of the court, professors argued the mismatch theory has been rebutted.
The point is irrelevant in this case, however, because affirmative action itself is not supposed to be on trial. The plaintiff, Abigail Noel Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the class of 2008, has not asked the justices to ban the use of race entirely. And in an earlier decision sending this same case back down to a lower court for further review two years ago, seven of the justices wrote that universities may weigh applicants’ race for the purpose of achieving diversity.
At question in this case is whether UT has shown that it needs to consider race, and if the university is using the most narrowly tailored possible means to achieve its goal. The university admits most of its entering class through a race-blind top 10 percent plan, which automatically admits any Texas high school student who graduates in the top tenth of his or her class. The plan boosts admission of minority students, in part because many Texas high schools are segregated.
But the university has contended that it needs to use race as one of many factors in admitting the 20 percent or so of its entering students who do not get in through the top 10 percent plan. These include out-of-state students and talented applicants who attend highly competitive high schools where they were edged out of the top tenth. Most of the black students admitted in the portion that considers race have higher test scores on average than the black students admitted in the race-neutral top 10 percent plan. This calls into question Scalia’s point that affirmative action hurts black students, since Texas’ consideration of race tends to net students with higher test scores.
Some of the Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed to question the utility of considering race in admissions at all, suggesting they may be backing away from their compromise on Fisher two years ago.
“What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked at one point, challenging UT’s contention that one of its goals was to attain classroom diversity. (In 2002, UT found that 90 percent of its classes had only one or zero black students in them.)
Scalia argues black students benefit from ‘slower’ colleges
“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas, where they do not do well — as opposed to having them go to a less advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well,” Scalia said from the bench. “One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.”
Scalia went on to say that it could be bad if the “really competent blacks” do not go to these “lesser” schools because they might then not become scientists. “I don’t think it stands to reason for the University of Texas to admit as many blacks as possible,” he concluded.
Scalia appeared to be referencing an amicus brief filed by Gail Heriot of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In her brief, Heriot points to a study that shows minority students are less likely to major in science or engineering if their test scores and grade point averages put them in the bottom half of the admitting class at their institution. Heriot says that if UT actually wanted to help minorities, it would find black students who were admitted to MIT and convince them that their chances of succeeding at UT, which is less selective, are higher. The brief also points out that one-third of blacks who received a doctorate in science or engineering in 2006 got their degrees from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). These colleges, on average, have lower admissions standards than UT.
Multiple studies have looked at this so-called mismatch theory of affirmative action. Some have shown that minority students benefit from attending elite institutions even when their high school backgrounds are weaker than the average class. In another brief in front of the court, professors argued the mismatch theory has been rebutted.
The point is irrelevant in this case, however, because affirmative action itself is not supposed to be on trial. The plaintiff, Abigail Noel Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the class of 2008, has not asked the justices to ban the use of race entirely. And in an earlier decision sending this same case back down to a lower court for further review two years ago, seven of the justices wrote that universities may weigh applicants’ race for the purpose of achieving diversity.
At question in this case is whether UT has shown that it needs to consider race, and if the university is using the most narrowly tailored possible means to achieve its goal. The university admits most of its entering class through a race-blind top 10 percent plan, which automatically admits any Texas high school student who graduates in the top tenth of his or her class. The plan boosts admission of minority students, in part because many Texas high schools are segregated.
But the university has contended that it needs to use race as one of many factors in admitting the 20 percent or so of its entering students who do not get in through the top 10 percent plan. These include out-of-state students and talented applicants who attend highly competitive high schools where they were edged out of the top tenth. Most of the black students admitted in the portion that considers race have higher test scores on average than the black students admitted in the race-neutral top 10 percent plan. This calls into question Scalia’s point that affirmative action hurts black students, since Texas’ consideration of race tends to net students with higher test scores.
Some of the Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed to question the utility of considering race in admissions at all, suggesting they may be backing away from their compromise on Fisher two years ago.
“What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked at one point, challenging UT’s contention that one of its goals was to attain classroom diversity. (In 2002, UT found that 90 percent of its classes had only one or zero black students in them.)
Scalia argues black students benefit from ‘slower’ colleges
