Center for Policy Research
Policy Brief
Affirmative Action is a Successful Policy for Diversity in College Graduation
Amy Lutz, Pamela R. Bennett, and Rebecca Wang
C.P.R. Policy Brief No. 4
June 2023
Affirmative action in higher education has become an active arena for policymaking and legal challenges in the United States. A question frequently raised about affirmative action is whether racial and ethnic minority students who benefit from affirmative action are successful in the academically demanding context of selective colleges. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study, the authors analyzed racial-ethnic differences in cumulative GPAs for White, Black, and Latino students who were high school seniors in 2004 and subsequently attended selective colleges and universities. Results show that Black and Latino students were more likely to graduate from selective colleges than White students who come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds with comparable academic resources and educational experiences.
CPR Policy Briefs present concise summaries of findings from recent research conducted by CPR affiliates in the areas of crime and the law, economic wellbeing and poverty, education, energy and the environment, families, health, public finance, social welfare, urban and regional economics, and other policy-relevant domains.
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Center for Policy Research
Policy Brief
Affirmative Action is a Successful Policy for Diversity in College Graduation
Amy Lutz, Pamela R. Bennett, and Rebecca Wang
C.P.R. Policy Brief No. 4
June 2023
Affirmative action in higher education has become an active arena for policymaking and legal challenges in the United States. A question frequently raised about affirmative action is whether racial and ethnic minority students who benefit from affirmative action are successful in the academically demanding context of selective colleges. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study, the authors analyzed racial-ethnic differences in cumulative GPAs for White, Black, and Latino students who were high school seniors in 2004 and subsequently attended selective colleges and universities. Results show that Black and Latino students were more likely to graduate from selective colleges than White students who come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds with comparable academic resources and educational experiences.
CPR Policy Briefs present concise summaries of findings from recent research conducted by CPR affiliates in the areas of crime and the law, economic wellbeing and poverty, education, energy and the environment, families, health, public finance, social welfare, urban and regional economics, and other policy-relevant domains.