Beyond Race in Affirmative Action

The NYTimes asked me to comment on Fisher v. Texas, the case involving affirmative action in higher education that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear.

Needless to say I anticipate being viciously attacked. I invite you to visit the Times comment section and engage my detractors ;-)

Rely on Merit, Not Race

In considering Fisher v. University of Texas, let’s acknowledge a key factual point about affirmative action: We have good tools for predicting college success, and those tools work about equally well across all ethnic groups and even for rich legacy candidates.

... Race-based preference produces a population of students whose average intellectual strength varies strongly according to race. Surely this is opposite to the meritocratic ideal and highly corrosive to the atmosphere on campus. Furthermore, the evidence is strong that students of weaker ability who are admitted via preference do not close the gap during college. For these reasons, the Supreme Court would be wise to end the practice of race-based preference in college admissions.