Status quo is bliss
Richard Sander, a highly regarded UCLA law professor and statistician,is conducting research with important implications for highereducation. To complete the research, which has been the subject ofmany scholarly articles and intense academic interest, he needs accessto a California government database.
So why has the State Bar, which controls the database, denied Sanderand his research team access to the records? Because Sander’s subjectis affirmative action, the mere mention of which raises blood pressurelevels among bureaucrats of all political persuasions. And becauseSander’s research breaches a taboo of political correctness: hehypothesizes that affirmative action, at least in top law schools,actually hurts the minority students it is designed to help.
It does this, Sander suggests, by landing minority students–and otherstudents who receive a major preference–in academic settings for whichthey haven’t been adequately prepared. The resulting “mismatch” betweentheir preparation and the preparation needed to succeed in such schoolsdisadvantages students admitted under affirmative action policies.Sander theorizes these students might have had a better chance ofpassing the Bar exam–and becoming practicing lawyers–if they had,instead, attended a less selective law school.
Whatever one’s views on the politically divisive issue ofaffirmative action, there’s no disputing that Sander’s research raisesquestions of public importance. If the State Bar’s records proveSander’s suppositions wrong, affirmative action policies can be pursuedwith greater confidence in their legitimacy. If Sander turns out to beright, no academic institution in the country will be able to avoid aserious reexamination of its use of affirmative action.
You would think that the California State Bar, which promotesdiversity in the legal profession and claims to be concerned about lowbar pass rates for minority students, would welcome and encourageSander’s research. After all, his research could provide answers toquestions about disparities in bar admissions that have vexed the Barfor years.
The Bar, however, does not want answers.