Study: Admission policies add to achievement gap

In his new book, “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal,” Espenshade argues that the admission policies of the nation’s most prestigious universities aggravate social inequality by giving preference to wealthy, advantaged students.

Based on a seven-year study, the book calls for an investigation into the existing educational achievement gap, which has the greatest effect on African-Americans, and the racial and socioeconomic factors that give rise to it. He also calls for a comprehensive solution to the problem.

“Yes, I believe that a project is called for that has the same scale, urgency and sense of importance as the original Manhattan Project,” Espenshade said in an e-mail.

The study followed over 9,000 students who applied to one of 10 highly selective universities between the early ’80s and the late ’90s, looking at factors that influence admission decisions such as Advanced Placement classes, test-prep courses and extracurricular activities.

The book, which is co-written by Alexandria Walton Radford GS ’09 refers to the achievement gap as “the most pressing domestic issue facing the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century.”

It calls on the most selective institutions of higher education — like Princeton — to improve accessibility and increase opportunities for students of lower socioeconomic background, noting that affirmative action policies have not been enough to close the achievement gap.

The study also investigated students’ satisfaction with their college experiences, noting that while students from different racial and class backgrounds are not isolated from one another, they do not interact as much as might be expected.

The study is relevant not just for institutions of higher education, but also has “implications on workforce equality and the competitiveness of the U.S. economy,” Espenshade said.

He explained that since taxpayers “stand to benefit in a big way” from closing the achievement gap, the federal government should play a big role in funding and leading this project. Corporate America, the non-profit sector and institutes of higher education are potential beneficiaries and may be possible sources of funding for this project, he added.

When asked about possible hypotheses for why the achievement gap exists, Espenshade explained that child-rearing behaviors, schools, neighborhoods and peer groups all play a role, but said that not enough is known about the relative role of each factor to formulate an effective intervention.