Universities Weblog

(Source: University of Texas at Austin)Last night's episode of 60 minutes included a segment on Texas's Top 10 law, which guarantees admission to any Texas public university for high school students graduating in the top decile of their class. The plan was designed to combat legal limitations on affirmative action.

The segment profiles two students. One graduated among the top ten percent in her class at a non-competitive, Hispanic high school. She earned a 3.4-3.5 GPA and was automatically admitted to the University of Texas at Austin. The other student didn't graduate in the top ten percent, but attended a more competitive high school, where she earned a 3.9 GPA (can anyone say "grade inflation"?). Even though she's a UT-Austin legacy and identified the school as her first choice, it rejected her.

Fair? What in college admissions is? But there certainly are holes in Texas's plan. It was created to maintain diversity in the face of limits imposed on affirmative action, most notably through the Hopwood case. Now, however, minority numbers are even greater than they were before the restrictions took effect. In other words, it's more affirmative than affirmative action.

According to the 60 Minutes story, families are moving to towns where schools are less competitive, just so their kids can vie for spots in the top ten percent. A plan that encourages students to seek lesser challenges doesn't sound logical to me.

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