Majority in US says race shouldn’t be banned in college admissions, but it should play a smaller role: AP-NORC poll

WASHINGTON (AP) – As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most American adults say courts should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process. , few believe that a student’s race should ultimately play a major role in the decision. According to a new poll.

A May poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs and Research found that 63 percent said the Supreme Court should not prevent universities from considering race and ethnicity in admissions systems. Opinion polls showed little disagreement based on political or racial differences.

However, while those surveyed were more likely to say that factors such as grades and standardized test scores should be important, 68% of adults said race and ethnicity shouldn’t be important factors. I answered no.

The poll reflects general support for affirmative action, even though the future of affirmative action remains questionable. The Supreme Court will soon rule on lawsuits challenging admissions systems at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. With conservatives in the courts, many university leaders are bracing for decisions that could reduce or eliminate the use of race in admissions tests.

The American view of race in admissions tests (that race should be allowed, but is only a minor factor) is broadly consistent with the way universities say they employ racism.

Many universities, especially selective ones, say race is one of many factors that authorities can consider when choosing which students to admit. They say it doesn’t have a big impact, but in some cases it can give underrepresented students an advantage in narrow decisions. Universities defend the practice as a way to attract a wide range of students to campuses, arguing that racial diversity benefits all students.

It’s unclear how many colleges consider race in their admissions tests, and the practice is banned in nine states, including California, Michigan and Florida.

Leila Tromblay thinks it’s a matter of fairness. Trombly, 47, who is half black, said systemic racism has long given white students an edge in admissions. Affirmative action helps even the playing field, she says.

“Without such assistance, it seems difficult to get in, because we are not traditionally considered hardworking, smart, or hardworking,” she said.

She said she experienced that kind of prejudice because she grew up in a mostly white neighborhood. She always felt undervalued at school, she says.

“It doesn’t get noticed,” said Trombly, a Cortland, N.Y., self-described political moderate. “It’s not said directly, but implicitly it’s like, ‘You’re good at this, why don’t you try this?'”

Also in Roswell, Georgia, Andrew Holko said colleges should be allowed to consider race in admissions decisions. He sees it as a tool to fill the imbalance in public schools in the United States. Schools in wealthy white neighborhoods tend to get more funding from tax and parent groups than schools in black neighborhoods.

He sees similar things happening in areas like nearby Cobb County, Georgia. The county’s predominantly black southernmost schools are poorer than those in the white suburbs of Atlanta County.

“They don’t have computers to study on,” said Holko, who is 49 years old, white and politically independent. “They don’t have tutoring services. “Affirmative action is needed to overcome these disparities,” he said.

In Holko’s view, race should be a “very important” factor to ensure that college campuses reflect the racial makeup of the community.

A poll found that 13% of all Americans believe race should be a very or very important part of the admissions process, and 18% think it should be somewhat important. replied. Black and Hispanic adults were most likely to say that it should be at least very important.

The poll found similar views on gender considerations in admissions, with 9% of adults saying gender should be very important, 14% saying it is somewhat important, and 77% saying it is not very important. No, or not at all important. Both men and women shared similar views on gender roles.

In contrast, 62% of Americans think high school grades should be very important, and 30% say they should be somewhat important. Nearly half said standardized test scores should be very important.

For Jana Winston, college admission should be a matter of merit, nothing more. Students should be selected based on grades, test scores and extracurricular activities, she said.

“I don’t think race should have anything to do with the world,” said Winston, a Batesburg-Leedsville resident who is half white and half Cherokee.

Favoring students of certain races is unfair to other students with the same academic ability, she said.

Winston, 50, said: “There are a lot of kids who study really hard. I don’t think they’re pushed out of the way just because they feel the college needs to do the right thing politically.” I don’t like the idea of He is politically moderate and works at Walmart.

The Supreme Court has upheld affirmative action in decisions dating back to 1978. Lawsuits at Harvard and UNC accuse those schools of discriminating against white and Asian students. A lower court upheld the admission systems of both schools.

Although many colleges consider athletics when judging applicants, polls have found that most Americans say athletics should have little impact. Only 9% said athletic ability should be very important, and he said 29% said it should be somewhat important.

Similarly, few people think that family ties should be a big factor.

Only 9% said it should be very important for families to attend school, while 18% said it should be somewhat important. Similar sentiments were expressed about students whose family members donated to the university, with only 10% saying that donations should be very important.

The practice of giving subsidies to alumni’s children, known as legacy favors, has been criticized in recent years for favoring wealthy white students. Some famous schools have abandoned it, such as Amherst College and Johns Hopkins University.

Some education experts believe that if the Supreme Court revokes Affirmative Action, more colleges will follow suit, removing traditional preferential treatment to remove barriers to students of color. I believe that the measure will be repealed.

The view of the Supreme Court as a whole has become more negative since last year’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban or severely limit access to abortion. About 12% of Americans say they have a lot of trust in the courts, according to a poll, while 48% have only some trust and 39% have little confidence.

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The Associated Press education team is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. AP is solely responsible for all content.

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The poll was conducted May 11-15 of 1,680 adults using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The range of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.