This article examines secondary school admissions criteria in England. The analysis revealed that in a significant minority of schools, notably those responsible for their own admissions--voluntary-aided and foundation schools--a variety of criteria were used which appear to be designed to select certain groups of pupils and so exclude others.…

High attrition from a selective school is an especially unexpected institutional outcome: Students and schools invest significant resources to ensure a match. This study examines the departure process underlying students' decisions to leave college, based on a case study of attrition at a major selective urban American university. The analysis is…

There are few historical studies about the sex education of Australian youth. Drawing on a range of sources, including the oral histories of 40 women and men who attended two single-sex, selective high schools in a provincial Australian city (Newcastle, New South Wales) in the 1930s-1950s, this paper explores the adolescent experience of sex…

This is the final report and critique which investigated the law school admissions process, and especially the role of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) within that process, for possible bias against minority applicants. The study involved the reanalysis of existing data. Results show that current admission policies unfairly limit the…

South Africa's post-apartheid college admission strategies show that initially, applicants may be accepted or rejected solely based on academic merit. If predictors are found to be biased at this stage, they may be statistically adjusted. Subsequently, representation of specific groups may be considered using quotas, but also with consideration…

This article examines the effects of social capital in the transition to postsecondary education, in particular, transitions to selective colleges. Refining the theory of social capital with the concept of alignment between parents' and adolescents' goals and actions, we emphasize the complementarity of extra-group ties as social capital through…

Explores issues related to race and college admissions, focusing on the problem of how much weight university admissions officials should give to diversity. What constitutes special considerations, what might be outright preference, and how the goal of ethnic diversity can be balanced against other factors are discussed. (SLD)

This paper examines the social meaning of subject choice in the post-16 context through a case study of Media Studies in a selective school. Students' accounts are discussed in terms of both their enjoyment of the subject and their negotiation of its "legitimacy". The analysis of their comments in interviews stresses the subject's…

The Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) documents dimensions of quality in legal education and provides information about law student participation in effective educational activities that law schools and other organizations can use to improve student learning. This paper presents select findings from the 2007 survey administration,…

During the 1985 session of the Louisiana legislature, House Concurrent Resolution No. 110 was passed requiring that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education study the possibility of instituting a state-wide multiple-curriculum system in Louisiana's public schools. Tasks of the resulting 19-member curriculum committee focused on a…

This article is a critique of the Dworkinian theory of fairness in the context of Affirmative Action. Although Dworkin committed tremendous endeavors in an attempt to give a fairness argument backed by an empirical study, the question of whether affirmative action is fair remains inconclusive. The sample used in the study is unrepresentative, and…

Federal constitutional, statutory, and case law dealing with minority-targeted scholarships and admissions are reviewed. Applicable laws and standards, standing, admission and scholarship procedures, affirmative action, and holistic assessments are discussed. It is concluded that many existing affirmative action programs may violate the Fourteenth…

This article describes a University of Hartford (Connecticut) program in which largely minority-group Hartford city high school graduates are enrolled at reduced tuition. Unique situations for learning are highlighted, including those encountered in residence halls, on campus, in class, in faculty and administrative offices, and in program…

This report responds to the California Maritime Academy's plan to develop a student affirmative action plan to address the needs of underrepresented, women, and low-income students. The report concludes that the final version of the plan (attached as an appendix) provides a good beginning for the changes that must occur at the Academy if…

With only a small number of their students coming from families with the lowest incomes (10% from the bottom two family income quintiles), the nation's most selective private colleges and universities need to know why. Two ready ideological answers are (1) that low-income high-ability students are being excluded in order to favor the children of…