In the Media: Actually, Scalia Had a Point

18 December 2015 4:31PM

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's recently suggested that black students might perform better at less challenging institutions. Though his comments caused outrage, they are based on research "showing that a substantial number of black students would do better — and be happier — at schools less selective than the ones they are often admitted to via racial preferences," writes John McWhorter in an op-ed for CNN. 

One example of this research is a study by Duke Economics Professors Peter Arcidiacono and Joseph Hotz, with Esteban Aucejo (Ph.D. '12). Their paper compares undergraduate graduation rates for minority students in STEM fields among University of California schools before and after the state's affirmative action ban. Ultimately, the co-authors find that less-prepared minorities at higher-ranked universities would have persisted in their science majors had they attended lower-ranked universities. 

"University Differences in the Graduation of Minorities in STEM Fields: Evidence from California" is forthcoming in the American Economic Review.

Read more about the study and affirmative action on the Times Higher Education.