Race and College Admissions: A Case for Affirmative Action
Is the American Education System In Jeopardy?
Why President Bush’s education reform, cuts aren’t effective
(ELK GROVE, Cal.) It has been five years since the introduction of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, an effort to close the academic achievement gap between various races and economic levels. Based on his education reform in Texas, this policy pushes for standardized tests and better performances from all schools nationwide. On the other hand, if a school fails to meet performance standards, funds are reduced. In this year’s Congressional budget, vocational programs, government-funded college scholarships, and other educational programs, which affect many underrepresented ethnic groups, are being drastically cut. Is reducing funding for poorly performing schools and programs the solution? According to Dr. Jamillah Moore, author of the new book Race and College Admissions: A Case for Affirmative Action, this will not solve the greater problem.
“The decline in minority enrollment in colleges is a direct result of barriers these students encounter as they progress through the educational pipeline,” says Dr. Moore. “There is a need to improve under performing schools in order to prepare more underrepresented students for college. Schools and states need to take action by devoting more funds, not reducing them. To increase the participatory rates of underrepresented students attending college, funding for outreach programs and other support systems are critical to their success.”
Dr. Moore believes that merit for inner city disadvantaged students should be looked at in a light different from merit for students from affluent high schools. Race and College Admissions examines the misconceptions surrounding affirmative action and the role that race has in the college admissions process. The book explores declining diversity in universities; the effect that race has upon professional school admissions policies; the historical perspective of the subject; the courts’ role in affirmative action; inequities in the college admissions process; and ways to address the problem.
“Affirmative action is not a policy geared toward race or a discriminatory practice against Whites,” explains Dr. Moore. “Rather, it attempts to redress inequities, providing opportunities and access for underrepresented groups who, more often than not, are non-white.”
As a guest, Dr. Moore can discuss:
How Bush’s education cuts are counter-productive
Misconceptions, myths, pros and cons of affirmative action
Why/how affirmative action affects you
Solutions for diversifying college campuses
Her own experiences as an African-American woman trying to obtain a higher education
The current state of university admissions processes
The history and future of affirmative action
Why the number of underrepresented students in college has declined
Dr. Moore currently lives in Elk Grove, Calif., and is Vice Chancellor of Governmental and External Relations for the California Community Colleges. She is also a professor at California State University, Sacramento. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication and a master’s degree in Intercultural Communication and Public Policy from California State University in Sacramento. In addition, she earned an Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. Race and College Admissions is Dr. Moore’s first book.