The Bias of Standardized Tests: Why Fewer Blacks Go to Law School
Compiled by the DiversityInc staff
© 2006 DiversityInc.com®
April 27, 2006
Law schools are doing themselves a disservice by demanding higher LSAT scores, because this excludes a large number of black students.
John Nussbaumer, an associate dean at Michigan's Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and author of a widely debated paper in this month's edition of the St. John's University Law Review, says that because black students as a group consistently score approximately nine points below the national average, a heightened focus on that one benchmark means blacks are getting a disproportionate share of rejection letters, USA Today reports.
Nussbaumer's thesis says schools increasingly ignore their mandate not to overemphasize the LSAT. It is striking chords far beyond academic circles as the legal profession ponders how to reverse a steady 10-year decline in the number of black students.
Data collected by the Law School Admission Council, which administers the LSAT, shows that since 1994, when first-year black enrollment peaked at 3,432, that number has dropped 13 percent to 2,975. By contrast, Asian and Latino enrollments have climbed: Asians by 44 percent to 3,759 and Latinos by 26 percent to 2,610.
The statistics about black students' performance on standardized tests is nothing new. For years reports have reiterated the flaws in the wordings of questions and the exams themselves. Yet for an industry that has been trying hard to increase the number of black attorneys, shutting out talented student is a huge step backwards.
The 2004–2005 NALP Directory of Legal Employers shows that among 54,000 partners and 61,000 associates, senior attorneys and staff attorneys, those 4 percent of partners and 15 percent of associates in law firms are people of color. (See also: 'Critical Mass': A Law Firm's Multimillion-Dollar Diversity Investment).
"Implicit in all of the media coverage is that law firms are not doing enough to attract top diverse talent," says Patrick Hobbs, dean of the Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, N.J. "Those firms that are working to recruit [diverse lawyers] have found unique and different ways to reach out, and they should be applauded."
There is a movement to reach out and help law grads of color begin their careers. Some schools and law firms even have developed partnership programs, such as Seaton Hall's "Partners in Excellence," in which outstanding law students of color participate with six participating law firms in a mentorship and fellowship grant program that lasts throughout the selected students' tenures at Seton Hall.
Programs such as this give students of color an opportunity to shine, but schools first need to keep the students in mind before worrying so much about the ever shifting national rankings.
"Students with low scores can succeed and can be good lawyers," says Nussbaumer, who adds that factors such as life experience and work habits do not get tested on the LSAT. "But if you over-rely on the LSAT, some of these folks get cut out of the chance to try."
My comment on this article is that other standardized tests such as the GRE and SAT are keeping black americans from achieving their goals to get a better education. Determined and talented students are being deprived of their right to receive an education. In order for them to be successful of obtaining the required score of any institution, they have to take preparatory courses concentrated on these tests. These courses such as Kaplan, cost at least $1,000, which might be difficult for some parents to afford. It is sad what can happen when money plays a role in the success of one's life.
The Oprah show had a segment on how the american education system are depriving students of obtaining an equal and beneficial education. I'm sure there are not many schools that offer courses to prepare for standardized examinations. Having those courses should be mandatory. Our certain _ branches of government fails to realize that by providing an equal education for black american students, they can become productive citizens in society that will help boost the economy. It's terrible that the race card still plays an important role our society, thus paralleling Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest.
Hey, feel free to add to this blog because I'm tired of seeing students drop out of school (high school or college), lose their self-esteem in who they are because of rejections. Life is simple, but yet hard at the same time. Thank God we have him and Jesus to lean on and learn from. We sometimes get too caught up in the world to see what is really going on.
God Bless
Posted By: Candice Johnson
Thursday, April 27th 2006 at 2:16PM
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