Wednesday
Dec152004
Greg Fuller Responds - UVA Affirmative Action Probe
Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 01:12AM
Dear Mr. Santos ;
Regarding your report " U.Va. race complaint" [here], what we have in essence is a case of flawed numbers and even more flawed foes ; the old saying , " figures can lie and liars figure" , seem applicable . The foes here are some of the same disingenuous anti progressive cabal (Center for Equal Opportunity , National Association of Scholars , Center for Individual Rights , American Civil Rights Institute ) that pays Ward Connerly a million dollars a year to rail against affirmative action , have produced a decline in African-American college students at some campuses and contributed to our nation's racial discord .
As you know, U. Va. and many other major public institutuion go to great lengths to recruit scholarship athletes . Did the 1026 average SAT for admitted black students include black scholarship athletes ? Scholar athletes typically have lower test scores then the general student body .
On most non-HBCU campuses , black scholarship athletes will have a bigger impact on The black student average than is the case for their white athlete counterpart on their respective racial cohort . Typically on such campuses , black student athletes will be a higher percentage of the black student body than is the case for white athletes , hence a disproportionate impact .
I point this out not to single out athletes , but to make a point . A good Journalist will not only report numbers but help readers understand , potential distortions and hidden circumstances in such numbers
Further , As the book "The Shape of the River" by William Bowen, former president of Princeton, and Derek Bok, former president of Harvard reveals , judging college student populations by test scores is flawed as a means of predicting black student success rates during college and in life .
Lastly , higher test scores overall tend to track with parental income, and as such , says more about the ability to receive test coaching and good K-12 education then it does about a student potential .
Regarding your report " U.Va. race complaint" [here], what we have in essence is a case of flawed numbers and even more flawed foes ; the old saying , " figures can lie and liars figure" , seem applicable . The foes here are some of the same disingenuous anti progressive cabal (Center for Equal Opportunity , National Association of Scholars , Center for Individual Rights , American Civil Rights Institute ) that pays Ward Connerly a million dollars a year to rail against affirmative action , have produced a decline in African-American college students at some campuses and contributed to our nation's racial discord .
As you know, U. Va. and many other major public institutuion go to great lengths to recruit scholarship athletes . Did the 1026 average SAT for admitted black students include black scholarship athletes ? Scholar athletes typically have lower test scores then the general student body .
On most non-HBCU campuses , black scholarship athletes will have a bigger impact on The black student average than is the case for their white athlete counterpart on their respective racial cohort . Typically on such campuses , black student athletes will be a higher percentage of the black student body than is the case for white athletes , hence a disproportionate impact .
I point this out not to single out athletes , but to make a point . A good Journalist will not only report numbers but help readers understand , potential distortions and hidden circumstances in such numbers
Further , As the book "The Shape of the River" by William Bowen, former president of Princeton, and Derek Bok, former president of Harvard reveals , judging college student populations by test scores is flawed as a means of predicting black student success rates during college and in life .
Lastly , higher test scores overall tend to track with parental income, and as such , says more about the ability to receive test coaching and good K-12 education then it does about a student potential .
- Greg Fuller, a BrownWatch Contributor
