Even those black students whose SAT scores were in the same range as those of white students subsequently earned worse grades. White students with SAT scores above 1300, for example, were ranked, on average, in the top 40 per cent of their classes. Black students with the same scores were in the bottom 40 per cent of their classes. Hugh B. Price, president of the National Urban League, says the fact that black students tend to earn worse grades than white students isn't catastrophic, given that the data show that black graduates do about as well as white graduates in the job market. Someone with an 1150 who hustles is going to accomplish a lot more.
Success stories come in all colors.
But Mr. Steele, of the Hoover Institution, says that in areas where merit counts, black people remain underrepresented. Mr. Bowen and Mr. Bok missed that point, he argues, because they saw signs of professional success where none exist. One graph in the book, for example, shows that 33 per cent of the black students who earned doctorates went on to lead community or social-service activities. Only 6 per cent of white students with doctorates reported such activities. Mr. Steele asks.