Colleges Have a New Scheme to Get Around the End of Affirmative Action

Unwilling to drop racial preferences in admissions, colleges are now being advised to redefine merit to include race.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court held that colleges and universities can no longer elevate race over merit in their admissions decisions. EducationCounsel, a leading education consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., has devised a clever way to get around this: Redefine merit to include race.

In July, EducationCounsel shared guidance with college and university admissions officers on how they can continue “toward the achievement of diversity and equity goals in light of the Court’s decision.” “As an important initial step,” the firm advised, “consider conducting a data-driven evaluation of whether merit definitions and measures in admissions policies are mission-aligned and have predictive value.” In particular, “reconsider and recalibrate criteria associated with merit in admission, such as grade thresholds, test use practices, and the extent to which student context is considered part of the admissions decision.”