Defending affirmative action
Scott Dillon, a graduate of the University of Indiana-Bloomington's law school, recently published a pamphlet (using data directly from the law school) which showed that LSAT scores for Indiana's black law students were on average significantly lower than LSAT scores for their corresponding white classmates. He distributed these pamphlets free of charge to the mailboxes of current students. The pamphlets mysteriously vanished - and officials of the law school have now gone on record to defend affirmative action (subscription required):
According to Mr. Dillon's research, in 1999, for example, the average LSAT score for black applicants accepted at the law school was 146, which was the 32nd percentile of test-takers nationwide. The average nonminority student's LSAT score was 159, which was the 81st percentile. The law school no longer tracks test scores by minority status.
After the information packets disappeared from students' mailboxes, Mr. Dillon complained to Lauren K. Robel, the dean of the law school, and demanded an investigation. He also asked that she send an e-mail message to students with his 13-page document attached. She did send out an e-mail message, telling students about the reported theft, and giving them Mr. Dillon's e-mail address in case they wanted copies.
The National Association of Scholars, which opposes AA, is involved, and the controversy seems to be getting on everyone's nerves. Oh, and Dean Robel provided some lovely double-speak in regards to the irrefutable test score gap:
Ms. Robel said she has no reason to doubt the numbers cited in Mr. Dillon's report, which were provided by the law school. "But the point of affirmative action is to look past test scores," she said. "It doesn't surprise me that the median test scores of minority students are lower than those of Caucasian students. If that weren't the case, affirmative action would be unnecessary." Nevertheless, she added, "our minority students come wonderfully qualified in all sorts of ways, and they do good work when they leave. I'll stack them up against any students in the country."
"All sorts of ways," none of which apparently translate into intellectual mastery as evidenced by the highly-reliable and predictive LSAT. Her honesty about the fact that Indiana is willing to ignore low test scores based on skin color is refreshing, although by her logic, there's no rationale for refusing anyone on the basis of a low LSAT, which makes me wonder why the test is used for admissions there at all. Oh, and I also wonder why the school "no longer tracks test scores by minority status." At least, not after minorities who are "wonderfully qualified" in other ways are admitted. And, given this stated policy, how could Indiana possibly defend themselves against a non-minority students who possesses "wonderful" qualifications in other ways, yet ends up being rejected? And how can Indiana consider itself to be progressive, when they require that only non-minority (white) students demonstrate mastery of pre-law skills, while waiving that requirement for minority applicants? Isn't this, in essence, the racist assumption that minority students can't be expected to do as well as non-minorities?
There's more here, in this Hoosier Review article by Scott Dillon:
During an hour and a half interview I conducted with both [Chair of the Law School's Admissions Committee Jeffrey] Stake and Law School Dean Robel in January, Stake explained the same "two-pronged" approach...As Stake's quote from the Herald Times article explains, the law school does not evaluate each applicant's "file as a whole" as appears in the Law School's brief in Grutter. In fact, the actual "two-pronged" approach places emphasis on LSAT only for "half" of the student body, with, as stated by Stake, those applicants in the bottom fifty percent of LSAT scores evaluated in a different manner that does not "pay too much attention to the [LSAT] test." Such a system permits those applicants with lower LSAT scores much greater likelihood to gain admission than a system that evaluates each applicant on equal terms.
Sounds like Indiana's version of giving minority students a hand up is simply to ignore LSAT scores, a decision that has no basis in psychometric soundness.
Thanks to John at Discriminations for the link.