The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions -- Summary of the Symposium on Diversity in Health Professions in Honor of Herbert W. Nickens, M.D. (2001) / Chapter Skim
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Toward Diverse Student Representation and Higher Achievement in Higher Levels of the American Educational Meritocracy
Toward Diverse Student Representation and Higher Achievement in Higher Levels of the American Educational Meritocracy
Pages 143-184
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From page 143... ...
Army administered intelligence tests to new recruits, the practice of sorting, selecting, and placing people based upon their test scores was launched. Colleges and universities began the practice using standardized intellectual tests for selecting students a few years later and the practice has grown steadily ever since.
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From page 144... ...
Several leading testing and assessment organizations, colleges, and universities have launched efforts to complement or even supplant traditional indicators of merit with alternative criteria. Criteria such as grades, educational and career aspirations, amount of effort, perseverance, and heritage, are variously considered as being complementary to test scores or to perhaps be possible alternative criteria.
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From page 145... ...
Despite the popular anti-testing rhetoric, standardized tests and assessments have become so highly regarded as mediums of meritocracy that they are used to validate grades, curricula, and teaching; to certify the learning and accomplishments of students; to accredit and reward institutions; and to set priorities for public policies. Reversing the underrepresentation and progress of African Americans and Hispanics in higher levels of American education requires an increase in their participation and performance on test scores and grades.
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From page 146... ...
of whom are adults 18 years old and older. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Whites throughout various age groupings of the entire population from birth through 65 years and above.
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From page 148... ...
Table 1 shows that while African Americans comprise 11.4 percent of the adult U.S. population, they represent only 6.9 percent of the bachelor's degrees, 7.1 percent of the master's degrees, 4.3 percent of the first-professional degrees, and 3.8 percent of the doctorate degrees in the United States.
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From page 149... ...
Table 2 shows the race/ethnic distribution of the traditional college-age population of 18- to 24-year-olds, first-time full-time freshmen enrollment at four-year colleges and universities, bachelor's degree recipients, and the new medical school entrants in 1997. The gap between representation in the population and among the three indicators of merit for African Americans and Hispanics is similar to the gap observed in Table 1 for the overall adult population.
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From page 150... ...
It is important to observe that both African Americans and Hispanics are represented among new entrants into medical school at roughly the same rate that they are represented among bachelor's degree recipients. This is due mainly to the lower representation of students who are non-resident aliens among new medical school entrants than among bachelor's degree recipients and not because African Americans and Hispanics enter medical school at the same rate after undergraduate school as Asian Americans and Whites.
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population includes Native Americans. Grand totals for freshmen enrollment include Native Americans and non-citizens.
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TABLE 5 Typical Undergraduate College Criteria for Admission Test Scores High School Class Rank High School Grade Point Averages in College Preparatory Courses High School Academic Program Student Essay Geography Alumni Relations Extraordinary Talent TABLE 6 Typical Medical School Criteria for Admission Test Scores (MCAT) College Curriculum/Major College Grade Point Averages Pre-Med Courses (Biology, Physics, English, Chemistry)
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From page 153... ...
In fact, it is not surprising for less weight to be assigned to test scores in the most selective colleges than at less selective ones, because the weight is most often dependent upon the variance in the applicant pool rather than the value that colleges and universities believe the test has as a representation of student achievement. In colleges and universities that have large applicant pools and where the test scores of the applicant pool are homogenous, the weight assigned to scores is likely to be low and more weight may be placed on alternative criteria that provide more discrimination among the applicants.
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From page 154... ...
And because test scores and grades are the strongest and most visible signs of merit, they are the most important for aspiring students to focus on in achieving high levels of performance. The trends in the number of students taking admissions tests is another indicator of student aspirations to attend college and post-baccalaureate graduate and professional education.
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From page 155... ...
TABLE 7 SAT I and ACT Test-Takers by Race/Ethnicity and Year Year Race 1991 1995 1999 N % N % N % % Change in % Change in Participation Represen 1991-1999 talon 1991-1999 SAT I African 97,008 10.1 99,252 10.0 113,377 10.3 16.9 2.8 American Asian 42,607 4.4 48,523 4.9 60,878 5.6 42.9 25.7 American Hispanic/ 55,211 5.7 67,050 6.8 81,632 7.5 47.9 30.0 Latino Native 7,828 0.8 8,955 0.9 8,225 0.8 5.1 -7.6 American White 676,404 70.2 665,750 67.3 707,851 64.6 4.6 -8.0 Other 11,422 1.2 19,344 2.0 30,756 2.8 169.3 136.8 Citizen Non- 73,150 7.6 80,258 8.1 92,989 8.5 27.1 Citizen Total 963,630 989,132 1,095,708 13.7 ACT African 71,722 9.5 87,462 10.1 100,282 10.5 39.8 10.4 American Asian 14,306 1.9 19,622 2.3 24,357 2.6 70.3 34.4 American Hispanic/ 30,661 4.1 42,193 4.9 46,361 4.9 51.2 19.4 Latino Native 9,285 1.2 11,220 1.3 10,612 1.1 14.3 -9.8 American White 584,986 77.9 645,915 74.4 718,498 75.5 22.8 -3.0 Other 21,982 2.9 35,542 4.1 22,870 2.4 4.0 -17.9 Citizen Non- 18,129 2.4 25,772 3.0 28,527 3.0 57.4 24.2 Citizen Total 751,071 867,726 951,507 26.7 SOURCE: Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files from ACT Inc., 1999. Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files from the College Board and Educational Testing Service, 1999.
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From page 156... ...
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From page 158... ...
Approximately 50.4% of Whites and 45.1% of Asian Americans achieved scores below 22 compared with 87.6% of African Americans and 72.8% of Hispanics. While 21.8% of Asians and 15.8% of Whites achieved ACT scores of 27 or more, only 1.7% of African Americans and 5.9% of Hispanics achieved scores in this range.
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From page 159... ...
SOURCE: Association of American Medical Colleges, 1998.
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From page 162... ...
FACTORS RELATED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON TESTS AND ASSESSMENTS Unless one is inclined to believe the "nature versus nurture" orientation of intelligence and merit, perhaps the best initial investment toward narrowing the racial/ethnic gap in performance should be to identify tangible factors that, if altered, could lead to higher performance for African Americans and Hispanics. The scatter plots presented in Figures 4 and 5 show the school-level math scores of African-American and white students in the fourth and eighth grades on NAEP, distributed by the proportion of school population that is African American.
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From page 165... ...
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From page 167... ...
At a family income level of $18,000 and below, Table 11 shows that the average ACT score for African Americans was 16, for Asian Americans and Whites 20, and for Hispanics 18. At the income range of $50,000 to $60,000, the mean score for African Americans is 18, for Asian Americans 23, for Hispanics 20, and Whites 22.
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From page 168... ...
168 THE RIGHT THING TO DO, THE SMART THING TO DO Income probably serves as a proxy for quality of schools, quality and level of parent education, and overall quality of life. Since efforts to increase the opportunities for underrepresented students to enter higher levels of the meritocracy are not likely to include altering the income distribution of the nation's families, then it is important to identify factors beyond income that might be addressed in improving the scores of African-American and Hispanic students.
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From page 169... ...
'e ce .cn 1 led o + ~ -o ~ so ++ \ \ \ \ \ 1 ~ 1 .- ~ ~ ~ : ~ ~ ; l ~ \\ or ~ - - 4 to to 69 A to to _.
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From page 171... ...
and Race/Ethnicity $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70 $80 Race < $10 to to to to to to to to > $100 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70 $80 $100 African 771 805 838 860 881 894 906 922 942 1000 American Asian 921 970 1014 1036 1063 1076 1100 1118 1147 1217 American Hispanic/ 814 856 891 920 943 966 984 993 1021 1070 Latino Native 856 898 937 953 977 993 985 991 1010 1049 American Non-Citizen 904 900 938 984 1012 1040 1055 1071 1084 1108 White/Other 960 975 1000 1014 1027 1040 1051 1064 1087 1131 SOURCE: Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files The College Board and Educational Testing Service 1999 Tables 13 and 14 present regression analyses showing the relationship of several student characteristics and attributes of human capital to their composite (English, reading, science, and math) ACT scores and combined (verbal and math)
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* -2.74 -2.61 he R Squared .51 NOTE: Reference group for family income is $80,000 or more, for intended major is natural science, for race is white, and for public high school is private high school.
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v~.v,~ . 0 SOURCE: Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files from the College Board and Educational Testing Service, 1999.
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Those with family incomes of $30,000 to $60,000 scored .5 points lower, and those with family incomes of $60,000 to $80,000 scored .3 points lower. Compared to Whites, on average, African-American students scored 1.9 points lower, Asian students scored .4 points lower, Hispanic students scored 1 point lower, Native American students scored .6 points lower, non-citizens scored 1.5 points lower, and other citizens scored .5 points lower.
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From page 175... ...
Compared to students whose family incomes were $80,000 or more per year, those with family incomes of $30,000 or less scored, on average, 36 points lower on the SAT; those with family incomes of $30,000 to $60,000 scored 18 points lower; and those with family incomes of $60,000 to $80,000 scored 14 points lower. Compared with Whites, on average, African-American students scored 68 points lower, Asian students scored 7 points more, Hispanic students scored 33 points lower, Native American students scored 22 points lower, non-citizens scored 42 points lower, and other citizens scored 8 points more on the SAT.
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From page 176... ...
A similar pattern was associated with taking physics: if high-performing students took physics and low-performing students did not, there was a significant increase in the average test score gap between the two groups for both races and sexes. In general, participation in academically-oriented activities had a beneficial association for low-performing students; the gap between their test scores and those of their higher-performing peers was significantly decreased.
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From page 177... ...
students lived, and the percentage of white enrollment made significant contributions to differences in the test scores of high- and low-performing AfricanAmerican males. Tables 17 and 18 reveal that athletic activity participation, attending a public or private high school, and racial composition of the high school were not significant correlates of increasing or decreasing the test score gap for white female and male students.
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SOURCE: Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files from the College Board and Educational Testing Service, 1999.
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From page 179... ...
SOURCE: Nettles & Millett Analyses of customized data files from the College Board and Educational Testing Service, 1999. TABLE 18 Bootstrapping Results for White Males Taking the 1999 SAT 95% Confidence Int Predictors of Differences In SAT V+M Score Estimate (Intercept)
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From page 180... ...
Each one recognizes that success in the competitive admissions process and persistence through completion requires the highest quality of academic preparation and competitive test scores. It is only through academic preparation that the academic and socioeconomic playing field can be leveled for underrepresented African-American and Hispanic youth, and that the colleges and universities at the height of America's meritocracy can become more diverse.
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From page 181... ...
Regardless of the weight that colleges and universities assign to tests and assessments in the college admissions process, they remain the most challenging and most important focus for African Americans and Hispanics. Unless African Americans and Hispanics are able to close the achievement gap revealed by these assessments, they will not be able to expand their access to the most selective colleges and universities and first-professional schools, and they will remain underrepresented in the highest-status professions.
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From page 182... ...
Use the 2.5th and 97.5th quartile of the 1,000 estimates of the coefficients to derive a 95°/O confidence interval for He parameter estimate. Also, using the 2.5th and 97.5th quartile of the 1,000 estimates of the standard errors will yield a 95% confidence interval for the standard error parameter estimate.
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From page 183... ...
(2001~. "Customized data files from the College Board and Educational Testing Service, 19993.
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From page 184... ...
National Center for Education Statistics.
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