Racial Segregation Patterns in Selective Universities

Abstract

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Affirmative Action and Racial Segregation

“…I have given a possible explanation for this finding having to do with the U-shaped relationship between measures of college quality and the percentage of the student body that is black at colleges, and I have discussed some evidence that bolsters this interpretation. These results for segregation across colleges are in line with the results of Arcidiacono et al (2013) and Arcidiacono, Khan, and Vigdor (2011) for interaction within 15 Herrnstein and Murray (1994) report data from the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, a consortium of selective institutions, showing SAT score gaps between blacks and whites for 24 selective private institutions for the entering classes of 1991 and 1992. The test score gap is generally lower at the most selective institutions on this list.…”

“…One issue, which has been highlighted by Arcidiacono et al (2013) and Arcidiacono, Khan, and Vigdor (2011), is that students may be more likely to interact with college peers who have an academic background that is similar to their own. 5 If affirmative action leads to a wider disparity in academic backgrounds between white students and minority students within colleges, then the use of affirmative action may actually result in less interaction between students of different races.…”

“…One additional consideration is that affirmative action bans displace minorities from highly selective universities, and there is evidence suggesting that the return to attending a selective college is higher for members of minority groups (e.g., Daniel, Black, and , and cross-racial interaction (Arcidiacono et al 2013 andArcidiacono, Khan, andVigdor 2011). Also relevant are the effects of cross-racial interaction on attitudes and on friendship groups (Baker, Mayer, and Puller 2011;Boisjoly et al 2006;Camargo, Stinebrickner, and Stinebrickner 2010;Carrell, Hoekstra, and West 2016).…”

Affirmative Action in Undergraduate Education

“…12 The Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that the lower courts had not applied the necessary requirement of "strict scrutiny" in analyzing whether or not the University of Texas had acted appropriately and sent the case back to the lower courts to be re-analyzed. 13 As of July 15, 2014, the U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals once again ruled in favor of the University of Texas at Austin, stating "it is equally settled that universities may use race as part of a holistic admissions program where it cannot otherwise achieve diversity. This interest is compelled by the reality that university education is more the shaping of lives than the filling of heads with facts."…”

Affirmative Action and Racial Segregation

“…If this is true, it may be socially valuable to ration the scarce slots 33 Some additional evidence on this general point comes from research on the impact of affirmative action on crossracial interaction within colleges. Arcidiacono et al (2013) and Arcidiacono et al (2011) have found that students are more likely to interact with college peers who have an academic background that is similar to their own. The use of affirmative action may thus result in less cross-racial interaction if it widens the disparity in academic backgrounds between white students and minority students within colleges.…”