Merit Means More Than Grades and Tests
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning half a century of affirmative action in higher education will force colleges and universities to reconsider their admissions processes and the purposes these processes serve. These institutions can promote both individual excellence and a more inclusive society while fully complying with the court’s ruling. When I was in the Boy Scouts, we received merit badges.
The concept was straightforward: You received a badge if you demonstrated the required knowledge or skill in a particular area. This definition of merit worked well enough for the scouts, but it won’t do for admission to selective schools. Getting into college is more than a recognition of past performance.
Admissions officers also must judge whether an applicant can perform at the requisite level in the future. They make a prediction, which involves a measure of uncertainty. These officers look for evidence to reduce the degree of uncertainty.
High-school grades are only one such indicator. Students with mediocre grades but high scores on national standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT could have the potential to do better than they have in the past. But if they aren’t motivated to do better, they probably won’t.
Assessing motivation isn’t a science, yet schools have to because some of the most creative and successful adults are late bloomers, and colleges can’t afford to overlook them. There’s an additional complication: Students come from a range of circumstances. Differences in family background, neighborhood, economic status and quality of schools affect future educational attainment.
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