The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities*

Objective. This study examines how preferences for different types of applicants for admission to elite universities influence the number and composition of admitted students. Methods. Previous research with these NSCE data employed logistic regression analysis to link information on the admission decision for 124,374 applications to applicants' SAT scores, race, athletic ability, and legacy status, among other variables. Here we use micro simulations to illustrate what the effects might be if one were to withdraw preferences for different student groups. Results. Eliminating affirmative action would substantially reduce the share of African Americans and Hispanics among admitted students. Preferences for athletes and legacies, however, only mildly displace members of minority groups. Conclusions. Elite colleges and universities extend preferences to many types of students, yet affirmative action is the one most surrounded by controversy.     

The SAT II: Minority/Majority Test‐Score Gaps and What They Could Mean for College Admissions*

Objective. Although most colleges and universities do not currently use SAT II subject tests to make admissions decisions, changing sentiment against aptitude tests could lead to more widespread use of the SAT II. This study examines score gaps on the SAT II between white and minority students. Methods. Using data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel, I estimate the influence of race/ethnicity on SAT II writing scores after controlling for sample selection. Results. This study shows that although the average white student performs better than the average minority student on the SAT II writing exam, Asian and black students outperform white students when controlling for academic performance, family background, and high school fixed effects, while allowing different returns to characteristics. Conclusions. These score gaps reverse only if the average minority student is given the same characteristics as the average white student. Unequal incomes and educational environments virtually ensure these score gaps will endure well into the future.     

Systematic reviews of the effects of preparatory courses on university entrance examinations in high school‐age students

Montgomery P, Lilly J. Systematic reviews of the effects of preparatory courses on university entrance examinations in high school‐age students This systematic review examines the effects of coaching on Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores and, ultimately, university entrance. We show a significant effect in score improvement for coached students over their uncoached peers in both the Math and Verbal subtests of the examination. This review's findings indicate treatment group gains over control group of 23.5 points on the Verbal subtest and 32.7 points on the Math subtest, for a combined score of nearly triple that which was previously assumed. As long as coaching remains inaccessible to some students, we urge universities to reconsider the weight given to SAT scores in the undergraduate admissions process. We challenge the designers of the SAT to redesign the examination to eliminate the possibility of score gains from coaching. Finally, we call for researchers to increase the production of high‐quality data in this field to ensure accurate estimates of coaching's effects are made available to all.     

Where College‐Bound Students Send Their SAT Scores: Does Race Matter?*

Objective. I examine where Texas students send their SAT scores in 1998 to identify their revealed preferences for higher education and determine if race/ethnicity influences their decision. Methods. Using data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel, I estimate the influence of race/ethnicity on various college choice sets using a multinomial logit model. Results. The empirical estimation indicates that minorities perceive their opportunities at Texas public institutions to be different from whites. Furthermore, although blacks and Hispanics are less likely than whites to send their SAT scores to selective Texas institutions, they are more likely to send their scores to selective institutions out of state. Conclusion. Although the reasons for this are currently unclear, a possible suspect is the Hopwood v. Texas decision, a court ruling ending affirmative action initiatives in the admissions decisions of all Texas public colleges and universities.     

中国当代的高等教育、精英形成与社会分层——来自“首都大学生成长追踪调查”的初步发现

在现代社会中,高等教育在促进社会流动方面的重要性已毋庸置疑。以往的研究往往集中关注那些受过大学教育和没有受过大学教育人群之间的比较,将前者视为一个高度同质的群体,将大学求学过程当作一个"黑箱"。本文基于对"首都大学生成长跟踪调查"研究设计的介绍和首期数据的分析,揭示了中国高等教育内部的社会分层,即进入三种不同层次高校(清华大学、北京大学和中国人民大学等精英高校,"211大学"和其他非"211大学")的决定因素,特别关注家庭背景、招生制度、重点中学制度等中间机制的共同作用。研究发现,家庭社会经济地位和居住地对于进入不同层次的高校仍然有直接的影响,但是否重点高中,以及是否获得高考特殊政策的照顾,对进入什么层次的大学作用更加明显。重点中学主要影响学生高考分数,而招生的各种优惠政策明显有利于家庭社会经济条件好的学生。进入精英大学的学生更有可能入党,尽管他们的入党意愿低于其他类型高校的学生。这些发现对理解中国当代高等教育在精英形成过程和社会分层中的作用具有重要的启示意义。     

Gender, Ethnicity, and Power

Group-based power is generally associated with three types of group distinctions: adult-child, gender, and ethnicity. We argue that gender-based power is not comparable to ethnic-based power, in part because the forms and degree of institutional discrimination experienced by men and women of subordinate ethnic groups are not similar to one another, and in part because stereotypes and categorization processes pertaining to gender are not comparable across ethnic groups. Finally, in experiments using college students as participants, we show that whether applicants are placed into occupations that would enhance or attenuate group-based inequality depends jointly on job applicants' ethnicity and gender. Implications for theories of inequality based on gender and ethnicity and the relationship of gendered power to other group-based forms of power are discussed.     

Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Older Workers: Focusing On Whites,Blacks, and Latinos Within the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Framework

The experience of older racial/ethnic minority workers may differ from that of their non-Hispanic White counterparts because of persistent racial/ethnic differences; however, our knowledge of older minority workers is fragmentary. Using the cumulative advantage/disadvantage framework, this study aimed to identify factors that explain older Americans’ labor market participation after age 65 and whether racial/ethnic differences exist among those factors. Using the 2004 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study data, racially separate analyses were performed to systematically compare factors by race. The results showed that factors influencing labor force participation after age 65 were indeed conditioned by race. Health and meaning of work significantly influenced non-Hispanic Whites, whereas home ownership increased the odds of working among non-Hispanic Blacks, and Latinos were concerned with health alone. The findings suggest that older ethnic minorities appear to experience a greater vulnerability to involuntary labor market exit—as opposed to personal preference or financial necessity. This racial/ethnic inequality should be understood not as sudden occurrences in old age, but as a by-product of the interplay between the individuals’ lifetime experiences and the social structures that impose cumulative advantages/disadvantages on them. Continued research will help reduce racial gaps in the next generation of older workers.     

Preferences for Work Locations Among Social Workers

This is a report of a survey conducted in 1975 of students following social work courses in nineteen universities in England and Wales. The respondents were asked to state their preferences for future employment amongst different areas in England and Wales. The results show clear preferences with Devon at the top closely followed by Somerset and North Yorkshire. Most areas with positive scores were counties with substantial rural components but two urban areas were also high in the choice list. The least popular were two densely populated urban areas in the West Midlands and the London boroughs. There are interesting variations amongst these two low scoring groups. Whilst locational preference is only one of the factors determining mobility it is, nevertheless, of some importance.     

To Disclose or Not to Disclose Biracial Identity: The Effect of Biracial Disclosure on Perceiver Evaluations and Target Responses

Are biracial people perceived more negatively than their monoracial counterparts? Across two studies, we compared ratings of warmth, competence, and minority scholarship worthiness for biracial (Study 1: Black/White, Study 2: Asian/White), White, and minority (Study 1: Black, Study 2: Asian) college applicants. Findings suggest that both biracial applicants were perceived as colder and sometimes less competent than both White and corresponding minority applicants. Moreover, biracial people were also perceived as less qualified for minority scholarships than other racial minorities, which is partially explained by penalties to warmth and competence. Study 3 shows that disclosing one's biracial identity makes biracial people vulnerable to negative feedback. Taken together, these studies suggest that biracial people who disclose their biracial identity experience bias from perceivers and may be more vulnerable to that bias because of the personal nature of racial disclosure. Findings are discussed considering the stereotype content model ( Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007 ), cultural stereotypes about biracial people ( Jackman, Wagner, & Johnson, 2001 ), and the costs of disclosing devalued identities.     

向党靠拢,被党接纳:大学生入党问题研究

入党是一个双向选择的过程:首先是个体对党的选择--递交入党申请,随后是党对个体的选择--筛选符合要求的成员。本文利用"首都大学生成长追踪调查"(2009-2012年)数据探讨了影响大学生申请入党和被党接纳的各方面因素。离散型事件史模型分析发现,提出入党申请的大学生和最终被党接纳的大学生符合传统的选拔标准,即学业成绩优异,社团活动积极,担任学生干部,人际关系密切。不过,无论是申请者还是入党者,与其他学生相比,在自尊程度、上进心和事业心等方面都没有明显的个性特征(心理特质)。此外,申请入党的大学生在政治理念、实用主义倾向和服从性方面有一定的特征,但这些特征基本不会影响到他们能否入党。本文的另外一个发现是,高校背景替代了家庭背景,成为影响大学生申请和入党的重要因素。     

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Elusive Search for Racial Equity in Higher Education

In 1965, when affirmative action officially became part of the national consensus to achieve racial social justice, it was based on the compelling justification of establishing equality and remedying the effects of past discrimination. Since then, there has been a slow but steady shift from "equity" to "diversity" as its rationale. The shift has had a negative effect on achieving the original goal of racial equality. The diversity rationale has permitted parallel procedures to evolve that provided majority students with an even larger differential advantage than that conferred on minority students by affirmative action. In addition, we continue to have massive segregation. Minorities are concentrated in second level schools in urban areas, while whites are concentrated in higher quality institutions in the educational suburbs. It is without factual or legal foundation that whites can argue that they (relative to minorities) are the victims of discrimination through unfair and unequal educational policies and practices that determine access to higher education.     

硕士研究生分类培养的目标和方式

目前高校普遍采用的是单一的硕士研究生培养目标和方式,从招生到学制、课程设置、考核等环节基本上按学术型研究生的培养目标和标准进行。单一的学术型研究生培养难以满足社会多元化的需要。因此,研究生教育要确立＂学术研究型＂和＂职业应用型＂的分类培养目标,这是适应研究生教育改革发展的必然结果。通过改革研究生培养方式,在硕士生招生和学制、课程设置、科学研究、导师指导、培养考核等方面实行分类培养方式的新举措,通过多样性培养方式提高研究生教育的适应性。     

The Role of Pre-collegiate Partnership Programs in Environments Ambivalent about Affirmative Action: Reflections and Outcomes from an Early Implementation

Preparing underrepresented students for college success though pre-collegiate partnership programs is one alternative to affirmative action programs. This article describes the Multicultural Excellence Program (MEP), a partnership program between an urban school district and 22 four-year higher education institutions. MEP, begun in 1987, targets 7th–12th-grade students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education. It helps them plan how to prepare themselves for continuing on to a four-year college. Analyses evaluating program effectiveness examined outcomes of over 4,000 secondary students and 243 college students. Despite substantial turnover, particularly at transition points, MEP has been very successful in enrolling its high school graduates immediately in four-year colleges. Although many MEP students have thrived in college, a smaller proportion has struggled.     

Racial Representation and U.S. Senate Apportionment*

Objectives. This research note explores whether the system of assigning each state equal representation in the U.S. Senate adversely affects racial minorities, groups that often have common political interests. We also project changes in minority representation over the next 20 years using Census data. Methods. We develop a new method of assessing racial bias due to apportionment, which calculates the number of seats lost by groups due to equal representation, a more substantively meaningful statistic than correlational measures. Results. We find that both African Americans and Hispanics are substantially underrepresented due to their greater presence in high‐population states as compared to in low‐population states. Whereas bias against African Americans appears to be falling, the demographic patterns of Hispanics will make them even more underrepresented in coming years. Conclusions. These findings are especially consequential considering that malapportionment has important public policy implications, including greater per‐capita distributive benefits for smaller states. Further, given that the Senate serves as a major veto point in U.S. politics, racial bias due to equal apportionment may have a significant impact on current and future political debates relevant to minority groups.     

A New Neighborhood Every Fall: Aging in Place in a College Town

Older adults who live in residential neighborhoods adjacent to college and university campuses have a unique experience that makes them vulnerable to marginalization and displacement. As these neighborhoods become increasingly dominated by college students living in rental properties, older adults find themselves in the minority in a neighborhood where they have lived for many years. In addition, these neighborhoods are attractive to universities, city governments, and private companies for their development potential, which can result in gentrification. A year-long ethnographic study of a campus-adjacent neighborhood in a small US college town that is home to a medium-sized public university sheds light on the relationships between members of 5 stakeholder groups that have a vested interest in the neighborhood. The study highlights the need for additional research on different types of neighborhoods and their effects on aging in place in addition to outlining social work interventions in campus-adjacent neighborhoods that are designed to enhance these intergenerational spaces.     

日本大学学分制改革述评

日本大学的学分制源于美国,但并没有采用美国的完全学分制模式,而是引入了与学分制息息相关的平均绩点制、学分互换及插班入学、学分上限制度等,而且,这些改革措施目前仍然处于探索之中。由于管理体制、文化结构及现实问题等原因,日本大学没有选择关国的完全学分制模式,但它却选择了一个最适合自身的“日本模式”。     

Supporting Talented Youth

The study explores the main methods that are used to identify gifted students at both foreign and Russian schools: academic competitions, earned grades, the administration of special tests, and teacher opinions about the individual academic performance of their students. The authors note that none of the criteria are universally used insofar as it is impossible to provide a perfect formal measure of student talent that can identify students who think outside the box and have unique skills but who do poorly on standardized tests during the educational process. It is argued that to more effectively identify talented youth, we should use all of the methods taken as a whole without preferring any single approach to another one. The article also analyzes the main tools that are used to support talented students: scholarships and grants, preferential admission at universities, enrollment at special schools for gifted children and K–11 schools associated with universities, special classes, extracurricular studies and summer schools, and special centers for gifted children. Particular attention is paid to how special educational programs and methods for working with gifted children should be implemented at schools and to how teachers should work with parents and teacher assistants. The article provides a retrospective analysis of the measures that the Government of the Russian Federation has used since 1999 to identify and support gifted students. The authors conclude that the current laws that regulate this area are fairly contradictory. They frequently fail to specify the mechanisms that should be used to implement the provisions of the program documents.     

过程多维性与出路阶层化:中国大学教育过程的公平性研究

本文利用“首都大学生成长追踪调查”（BCSPS）数据,分析了城乡户籍、家庭背景因素对大学生学校过程及毕业出路的影响。结果表明,在学校过程方面,城乡大学生在学业成绩、校园表现、心理素质上差异不大,但在文化资本、毕业预期上差异明显,这种差异受家庭文化资本等背景因素影响;家庭背景在不同层次高校的影响存在异质性,家庭经济资本有利于非“211”高校学生争取更好的校园表现,而文化资本对“211”高校大学生心理状况影响更大。在毕业出路方面,国内研究生教育机会的分配相对公平,主要受学习成绩和综合表现影响。不过,海外留学机会获得受家庭文化资本和家庭收入影响明显,优势阶层的子女毕业深造选择空间更大。海外留学和留学归国人员规模快速增长对高等教育的主观公平性与民众阶层固化感的影响值得关注。     

中国高等教育中的自主招生与人才选拔：来自北大、清华和人大的发现

本文通过对“首都大学生成长追踪调查”中三所精英大学（北京大学、清华大学和中国人民大学）具有代表性样本的数据分析,从教育公平和人才选拔效率两个角度检验了自主招生政策实施的效果。研究结果表明,从教育公平的方面来讲,获得自主招生破格录取的学生更有可能来自父母受过高等教育的家庭、城市家庭和好的重点高中。从人才选拔效率的角度来讲,获得自主招生破格录取学生的学业表现、社会活动能力、非认知能力、毕业后的计划和实际去向与统招学生却并无显著差别。本文的发现对于如何完善自主招生政策、促进教育公平、科学选拔和培养优秀人才等议题具有重要的政策启示意义。     

Options: Racial/Ethnic Identification of Children of Intermarried Couples*

Objective. Whites of various European ethnic backgrounds usually have weak ethnic attachment and have options to identify their ethnic identity ( Waters, 1990 ). What about children born to interracially married couples? Methods. I use 1990 Census data—the last census in which only one race could be chosen—to examine how African American‐white, Latino‐white, Asian American‐white, and American Indian‐white couples identify their children's race/ethnicity. Results. Children of African American‐white couples are least likely to be identified as white, while children of Asian American‐white couples are most likely to be identified as white. Intermarried couples in which the minority spouse is male, native born, or has no white ancestry are more likely to identify their children as minorities than are those in which the minority spouse is female, foreign born, or has part white ancestry. In addition, neighborhood minority concentration increases the likelihood that biracial children are identified as minorities. Conclusion. This study shows that choices of racial and ethnic identification of multiracial children are not as optional as for whites of various European ethnic backgrounds. They are influenced by race/ethnicity of the minority parent, intermarried couples' characteristics, and neighborhood compositions.