The Effect of Banning Affirmative Action on College Admissions Policies and Student Quality

Abstract

Using administrative data from the University of California (UC), we present evidence that UC campuses changed the weight given to SAT scores, high school GPA, and family background in response to California's ban on racebased affi rmative action, and that these changes were able to substantially (though far from completely) offset the fall in minority admissions rates. For both minorities and nonminorities, these changes to the estimated admissions rule hurt students with relatively strong academic credentials and whose parents were relatively affl uent and educated. Despite these compositional shifts, however, average student quality (as measured by expected fi rst-year college GPA) remained stable.1. The term "race-neutral" refers to what we defi ne below as "color-blind." 2. It is well known that the UC system also attempted to bolster URM enrollment through increased recruitment efforts though it is diffi cult to quantify the effect of these programs, many of which were long-term in nature.

The effect of banning affirmative action on human capital accumulation prior to college entry

“…In the case of California, it seems clear that Prop 209 shifted most University of California (UC) schools from color-sighted to color-blind affirmative action. That is, the UC administration openly acknowledged that diversity remained a high priority even after Prop 209, and Antonovics and Backes (2014) provide evidence that, after Prop 209, UC schools changed their admissions process to implicitly favor minorities.…”

“…First, it is a large state with a significant URM population. In addition, it has been well-established that the more selective UC schools practiced significant race-based affirmative action prior to Prop 209, and finally, the measurement of how admissions rules changed at the UC after Prop 209 has been documented by Antonovics and Backes (2014).…”

“…In the long run, however, changes in students' SAT scores and high school GPA additionally may reflect changes in accumulated knowledge and skill. Since our data only allow us to examine students graduating from high school in the four-year period immediately following the implementation of Prop 209 (1998Prop 209 ( -2001 Antonovics and Backes (2014) provide evidence that Prop 209 led to widespread shifts in the entire admission process at many UC schools. In particular, the more selective UC schools appear to have decreased the weight placed on SAT scores and increased the weight given to high school GPA and family background characteristics in order to boost minority admission rates after Prop 209 went into effect.…”

When Affirmative Action Disappears: Unexpected Patterns in Student Enrollments at Selective U.S. Institutions, 1990-2016

“…Quantitative research demonstrates the positive effects of using an affirmative action policy on the enrollments of Black and Latinx students at the nation's most selective schools (Bowen and Bok 1998;Espenshade and Radford 2009). Research on the effects of state-level affirmative action bans, which exist in eight states, documents their deleterious impacts on the enrollment of students of color at the most elite public institutions in those states (Antonovics andBackes 2014, 2014; Garces 2012; Garces and Mickey-Pabello 2015; Hinrichs 2012).…”

Affirmative Action in Undergraduate Education

“…To ensure the fulfillment of this obligation, the Executive Order required that government contractors "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." 5 In contrast to earlier anti-discrimination legislation, this policy called for the implementation of proactive measures in addressing inter-group disparities.…”