ERIC Number: EJ1018330
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Aug
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-4086
EISSN: N/A
Altering Public University Admission Standards to Preserve White Group Position in the United States: Results from a Laboratory Experiment
Samson, Frank L.
Comparative Education Review, v57 n3 p369-396 Aug 2013
This study identifies a theoretical mechanism that could potentially affect public university admissions standards in a context of demographic change. I explore how demographic changes at a prestigious public university in the United States affect individuals' evaluations of college applications. Responding to a line graph that randomly displays a freshmen enrollment trend toward a white plurality or an Asian American plurality, white student evaluators lower their minimum class rank standard for admitting white applicants when exposed to an Asian American plurality trend. They also raise the minimum test percentile standard for admitting Asian American applicants. Notably, plurality trend does not affect Asian American student evaluators' minimum standards for recommending admission. Applications differed only by applicant race.
Descriptors: College Admission, Public Colleges, College Applicants, White Students, Asian American Students, College Freshmen, Enrollment Trends, Admission Criteria, Class Rank, Standardized Tests, Scores, College Students, Racial Bias, Student Diversity, Multivariate Analysis
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A