Affirmative Action

Research related to Affirmative Action

Statement on Today's Affirmative Action Ruling

Today’s ruling on affirmative action makes the Supreme Court’s majority the nation’s college admissions office and sharply reduces opportunities for students of color in the institutions that train America’s leaders. The decision is a major step backward toward a more rigidly stratified society where Black, Latino, and Native students face seriously unequal opportunities and American leadership will become more segregated. It is a purely political decision, and one in which the Court has ignored legal precedent, research-based evidence, and the advice of leading civil rights groups.

Feature article and Q&A spotlights new book, The Walls Around Opportunity

The Fall 2022 issue of the UCLA Ed&IS Magazine features an excellent article and Q&A with Gary Orfield, spotlighting his new book, The Walls Around Opportunity: The Failure of Color Blind Policy for Higher Education.

The Walls Around Opportunity: The Failure of Colorblind Policy for Higher Education

This new volume is the fourth of the Our Compelling Interests Series, housed at the University of Michigan's Center for Social Solutions and supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The series argues that diversity is critical for democracy to thrive. This installment explores the failure of colorblind solutions to resolve unequal education in the U.S.

Unequal Public Schools Makes Affirmative Action Essential for Equal Opportunity

The brief first presents new facts on the extraordinary segregation of Black and Latino students in the state’s public schools. Second, it shows that those groups are doubly segregated by race and poverty at the most educationally unsuccessful schools. These children are, on average, from families with far lower income and wealth and with parents with significantly less education. School is their chance to break the cycle of inequality but they are highly isolated in the state’s weakest schools, with very few having the opportunity to attend the competitive schools which are the most equipped to prepare students for access to a very competitive higher education system. The playing field is highly unequal — so many of the advantages that come to students from more privileged families do not reflect individual skill or merit in winning the race, but a much better starting point within the unequal public schools.

Policy Brief: Scholarly Findings on Affirmative Action Bans

This policy brief provides an overview of what is known about the impact of affirmative action bans nationally and complements research specific to California.