The U.S. Supreme Court provided evidence that its membership had shifted to be more critical of affirmative action as it heard oral arguments last week in two cases involving the race-based assignment of students to public schools. Although the court did not exhibit any desire to reconsider its stand on affirmative action in higher education, the justices could still end up handing down rulings that clarify, alter, or conceivably even reverse its past decisions dealing with race-conscious college admissions policies. Many legal analysts watching the proceedings concluded that the court now has a five-member majority that is unlikely to accept most uses of racial and ethnic preferences in education.