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"UC Sat Affirmative Action"
The following information has been presented from Justin, a graduate of UC San Diego and UC Davis:The governing body of the Universities of California, the University of California Board of Regents, is proposing to lower the standards for admittance to UCs. They plan to do this by lowering the minimum GPA and eliminating SAT II subject tests. If this proposal succeeds, it gets one foot in the door and the rest of the country could follow suit.
I attended the University of California, San Diego for my undergraduate degree and University of California, Davis for my graduate degree. After hearing about this proposal, I took some time to do some research about the SAT II subject tests.
The ultimate goal of the Board of Regents is to increase diversity in the schools, but this is really an attempt to circumvent the 1996 proposition eliminating affirmative action standards in public schools.
Basically it is only because of the SAT II that many minorities are able to attend UCs. The SAT II allows them to show their exceptional abilities in the sciences, social sciences and most importantly foreign languages, and helps them to qualify when they would otherwise be ineligible just judging on SAT I performance. Below is a table with statistics backing up this claim and some other information that I obtained from College Board. I do not know what is really going on, but I think it is important that a dialogue begin before the Board of Regents go behind closed doors to make this decision in November.
Another consequence of this proposal will be the lowering of the quality of education in California's schools. If the minimum GPA is lowered from 3.0 to 2.8, it is natural to think we will have more students who are not as qualified. In a school system that is already overcrowded, there is no reason to widen the pool of eligibility and diminish the quality of education for those students who meet the standards.
Here are two links to editorials that California Assemblymen Van Tran and Cameron Smyth published recently for some more background.
I am really troubled by what is attempting to be done to the schools that I attended and no one in the mainstream media is paying attention to this concern. Liberal Education is a strong voice for conservative students and I think this attempt to bring back a form of affirmative action and reduce the quality of education in our universities is something your readers should be made aware of. Thank you for your time and let me know your thoughts or if there is anything else or any information that I can provide you.
Here is the data I was talking about above:
The data below do NOT show that the SAT II hurts students of any particular ethnicity. The data show that some students in some ethnic groups are helped by the SAT II more than some students in other ethnic groups.
For example, there were 3,723 students of Asian, Asian American or Pacific Island background who scored less than 550 on one of the SAT tests but 700 or better on an SAT II, while there were 54 Black or African American students in the same situation. This does not mean Black students were harmed; it means fewer were benefited.
Table 2. Students with Discrepant Scores (High Subject Test Scores but Lower SAT Reasoning Test Scores)
SAT Critical Reading Score or SAT Math Score below 550 and any SAT II Score above 700 SAT Critical Reading Score below 550 and any SAT II Score above 700 SAT Math Score below 550 and any SAT II Score above 700 SAT Critical Reading Score below 550 and SAT II Spanish or SATII Chinese or SATII Korean above 700
Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaska Native 7 5 5 4
Asian, Asian-American, or Pacific Islander 3723 3613 625 2463
Black or African-American 54 31 36 13
Mexican or Mexican-American 3351 2953 2813 2306
Puerto Rican 25 15 17 9
Other Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American 1536 1322 1288 1001
White 684 395 332 25
Other 198 154 93 41
No Response 432 346 238 211
Best Language
English Only 3215 2475 1809 1329v
English and Another Language 4369 3980 2881 2976
Another Language 2090 2068 606 1552
No Response 336 311 151 216
First Language
English Only 974 589 468 95
English and Another Language 3466 3074 2083 2134
Another Language 5241 4871 2747 3638
No Response 329 300 149 206
TOTAL 10,010 8,834 5,447 6,073
o SAT Subject Tests make significant contributions to high standards of education and diversity in higher education.
o The SAT Subject Tests contribute to diversity in the UC system by identifying students with exceptional skills, often among minority students, first generation students or those for whom English is not their first language.
o In 2007 alone, more than 10,000 students, most of whom were minority students who otherwise would not have qualified for admission to the UC system, were able to gain admission thanks to the SAT Subject Tests.
o The SAT II is particularly helpful to students from lower income families in California. Students from families with less than $25,000 in household income are more likely to perform better on the SAT II than the SAT I than students from more affluent families. According to data collected for 2000, this resulted in nearly one in five lower income students doing better on the SAT II, providing additional opportunity for previously underserved populations. This represented more than 1,800 low-income California students who had the opportunity that year to achieve a UC education.
o SAT Subject Tests are very well aligned with the UC curriculum and offer additional predictors of freshman success, particularly among traditionally underserved populations.
o The SAT does a better job in closing the performance gap for African-American students than the ACT. The achievement gap for African-American students taking the ACT in 2007, based on the average composite score, was 20% compared with all students taking the test. For African-American students taking the SAT, the gap was only 14% for reading and writing, and 17% for mathematics.
o The percentage of minority students participating in the SAT exceeds that of the general population. Minority students comprised 39% of all students taking the test in 2007 while minorities comprise roughly 26% of the general U.S. population.