Gallup: 70% oppose considering race in college admissions

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/07/12/gallup-70-oppose-considering-race-in-college-admissions/

(AP photo) (AP photo)

(CNSNews.com) – A Gallup poll released Friday revealed that the majority of Americans (70 percent) believe that college admissions should be based solely on merit and that a person’s racial/ethnic background should not be a factor.

The survey found that 50 percent of blacks agreed that merit should be the sole factor in admissions, while 44 percent believed that race/ethnicity should be a factor, compared with 29 percent of Hispanics and 22 percent of whites who thought race should be a factor.

The survey even found that 57 percent of black people, 67 percent of white people, and 47 percent of Hispanics agreed that race should not be a factor at all.

A separate Gallup survey in collaboration with Inside Higher Ed also asked about the recent Supreme Court case, Fisher v. University of Texas, summarizing that the case “confirms that colleges can consider the race or ethnicity of students when making decisions on who to admit to the college” and asking, “Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision?”

Sixty-five percent of those surveyed disapproved of the Supreme Court decision while 31 percent approved.

“Americans’ low support for taking race/ethnicity into account stands in sharp contrast to their widespread agreement that high school grades should be a major factor in admissions,” Gallup said of the results to the survey questions. “A majority of Americans also say that scores on standardized tests and the types of courses a student takes in high school should weigh heavily.”

High school grades and scores on standardized tests like the SAT or ACT were ranked highest by respondents with 73 percent saying grades should be a major factor and 55 percent saying test scores should be a major factor.

— Written by Lauretta Brown

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