Jason Riley

That is what, that's when you run into trouble and affirmative action mismatches kids with schools. And we often speak of it in racial terms, but the same could be true of children of alumni. The same could be true of student athletes, the children of donors and so forth. Anytime there's a mismatch of the child and the institution, you're going to see those kids pooling at the bottom of the class.

And we have a ton. of evidence showing this. One of my favorite studies that point this out is one done by an economist at Duke University who interviewed freshmen at Duke and asked them what they wanted to major in. And the students that were black Black men in particular were asked whether they wanted to major in the STEM fields or in, I should say, the natural sciences and economics.

And we have a ton. of evidence showing this. One of my favorite studies that point this out is one done by an economist at Duke University who interviewed freshmen at Duke and asked them what they wanted to major in. And the students that were black Black men in particular were asked whether they wanted to major in the STEM fields or in, I should say, the natural sciences and economics.

And we have a ton. of evidence showing this. One of my favorite studies that point this out is one done by an economist at Duke University who interviewed freshmen at Duke and asked them what they wanted to major in. And the students that were black Black men in particular were asked whether they wanted to major in the STEM fields or in, I should say, the natural sciences and economics.

And what happened was about 75% or so of Black freshman males at Duke said they wanted to major in natural sciences or economics. But only about 35% ended up with a degree in those fields. So you had a 35-point attrition rate. Among white males, it was four points, the attrition rate. And what the economists showed was that

And what happened was about 75% or so of Black freshman males at Duke said they wanted to major in natural sciences or economics. But only about 35% ended up with a degree in those fields. So you had a 35-point attrition rate. Among white males, it was four points, the attrition rate. And what the economists showed was that

And what happened was about 75% or so of Black freshman males at Duke said they wanted to major in natural sciences or economics. But only about 35% ended up with a degree in those fields. So you had a 35-point attrition rate. Among white males, it was four points, the attrition rate. And what the economists showed was that

What produced this result, what accounted for this disparity entirely was whether the student had been admitted to the school with the same credentials as other kids at Duke. In other words, Duke admits some black kids that do meet the standards of other kids and some black kids who don't. And that attrition rate could be explained entirely by which black student we were talking about.

What produced this result, what accounted for this disparity entirely was whether the student had been admitted to the school with the same credentials as other kids at Duke. In other words, Duke admits some black kids that do meet the standards of other kids and some black kids who don't. And that attrition rate could be explained entirely by which black student we were talking about.

What produced this result, what accounted for this disparity entirely was whether the student had been admitted to the school with the same credentials as other kids at Duke. In other words, Duke admits some black kids that do meet the standards of other kids and some black kids who don't. And that attrition rate could be explained entirely by which black student we were talking about.

Those blacks that had been admitted to Duke with the same credentials as everyone else at Duke ended up with a degree in that major. Those who didn't switched out of the major. And so that shows you the mismatch effect of affirmative action.

Those blacks that had been admitted to Duke with the same credentials as everyone else at Duke ended up with a degree in that major. Those who didn't switched out of the major. And so that shows you the mismatch effect of affirmative action.

Those blacks that had been admitted to Duke with the same credentials as everyone else at Duke ended up with a degree in that major. Those who didn't switched out of the major. And so that shows you the mismatch effect of affirmative action.

Right, and what it also shows is, again, how counterproductive the policy is. So when, for instance, California banned racial admissions back in the mid-90s, and by the way, a number of states, nine or 10 states, even prior to the Supreme Court's decision, had already done this. Big states, Texas, Florida, California. So we have some idea of what's gonna happen in the absence of these policies.

Right, and what it also shows is, again, how counterproductive the policy is. So when, for instance, California banned racial admissions back in the mid-90s, and by the way, a number of states, nine or 10 states, even prior to the Supreme Court's decision, had already done this. Big states, Texas, Florida, California. So we have some idea of what's gonna happen in the absence of these policies.

Right, and what it also shows is, again, how counterproductive the policy is. So when, for instance, California banned racial admissions back in the mid-90s, and by the way, a number of states, nine or 10 states, even prior to the Supreme Court's decision, had already done this. Big states, Texas, Florida, California. So we have some idea of what's gonna happen in the absence of these policies.

And what happened in California is that, yes, For a period immediately after the ban went into effect, the most selective schools in the California system, Berkeley and UCLA, saw a reduction in Black and Hispanic enrollment. But the University of California system overall saw an increase in enrollment because kids were going to schools where they were better matched.

And what happened in California is that, yes, For a period immediately after the ban went into effect, the most selective schools in the California system, Berkeley and UCLA, saw a reduction in Black and Hispanic enrollment. But the University of California system overall saw an increase in enrollment because kids were going to schools where they were better matched.

And what happened in California is that, yes, For a period immediately after the ban went into effect, the most selective schools in the California system, Berkeley and UCLA, saw a reduction in Black and Hispanic enrollment. But the University of California system overall saw an increase in enrollment because kids were going to schools where they were better matched.

And more importantly, what California saw was a sharp increase in the graduation rates of Black and Hispanic students throughout the system, including in those more difficult STEM fields, computer science, engineering, physics, and so forth. Much, much higher GPAs, much, much higher graduation rates because kids were being better matched with schools.