Many minority students are encouraged to enroll in universities where the demands are too much for them. It is no favor to push students into institutions where they cannot succeed. Far better for a minority student to graduate from a state university than to drop out of Elite U. Affirmative action diverts attention from the steps that must be taken in elementary and secondary schools to assure that African-American and Hispanic students are ready for higher education. In short, the real problem is not at the college level-but in the schools. According to federal testing data, the average African-American student in 12th grade performs at about the same level as the average white student in 8th grade.
Hispanic seniors are almost as far behind on the same measures.
Many of those who enter college will have to take remedial courses. And even with remediation, many will discover that their inadequate schooling makes it nearly impossible to catch up, or to graduate from college. Stop giving them meaningless diplomas. Stop sending them to college to learn basic skills. Affirmative action conceals the achievement gap.