Originally posted in 2013 ... Latest revision: Friday 8/8/14 @ 12:48 pm
This note is based on data that was reported in Part 1 ==> HERE
D. Conclusions and Comments
This is a small exploratory study; therefore only tentative conclusions can be drawn from the findings reported in Part 1. At best they will be consistent with the results of more systematic investigations. One large statistical research program will be referenced: W. Bowen's Crossing the Finish Line (2009). A more recent effort, M. Beasley's Opting Out (2011), an intensive exploratory investigation with extensive links to the statistical literature, will also be cited.
1. The "Overmatch Hypothesis" vs. Affirmative Action
As per Crossing the Finish Line (2009), the "Overmatch Hypothesis"
Although Part 1 did not report specific data about the SAT scores of the black students, it is reasonable to assume that many, perhaps most of these students were admitted to the top tier institutions as a result of some kind of affirmative action initiative. Unfortunately "affirmative action" is one of those blanket terms that covers a wide range of strategies. Some affirmative action programs merely spend substantially more money to recruit black students who otherwise have academic credentials that are comparable to the predominantly white student body, e.g., the same math SAT scores. At the other extreme are programs that admit students whose academic credentials are substantially weaker than the predominantly white student body; but after admission the black recruits are given access to extensive compensatory support (reduced course loads, intensive tutoring, etc).
The results displayed in Table 1D and Table 1E in Part 1 of this report show that:
Indeed, the only thing that readers familiar with Crossing the Finish Line might find surprising about the results in Table 1D and Table 1E is the extent to which this pattern is displayed more sharply in Table 1E for the private Non-Research Institutions than in Table 1D for the Research Institutions.
That more than 60,000 black students are now attending the nation's most esteemed institutions of higher learning came as a pleasant surprise for me. To be honest, I wasn't expecting half that many. 60,000 represents two percent of the 3 million black students currently enrolled in accredited U.S. colleges and universities. I was surprised because, like most educators, I have been focused on the 98 percent, most of whom have not received an education that adequately matches their aptitudes and requirements.
1. The "Overmatch Hypothesis" vs. Affirmative Action
As per Crossing the Finish Line (2009), the "Overmatch Hypothesis"
"... is often made by opponents of affirmative action who claim that race-sensitive admissions policies harm the very minority students they purport to help by stigmatizing them and forcing them into harmful competition with white classmates of greater ability." (p. 209)The study goes on to note that when Bowen and Bok conducted a previous study of 28 mostly private colleges and universities (The Shape of the River, Princeton University Press, 1998), they "concluded that there was absolutely no support" for this hypothesis.
Although Part 1 did not report specific data about the SAT scores of the black students, it is reasonable to assume that many, perhaps most of these students were admitted to the top tier institutions as a result of some kind of affirmative action initiative. Unfortunately "affirmative action" is one of those blanket terms that covers a wide range of strategies. Some affirmative action programs merely spend substantially more money to recruit black students who otherwise have academic credentials that are comparable to the predominantly white student body, e.g., the same math SAT scores. At the other extreme are programs that admit students whose academic credentials are substantially weaker than the predominantly white student body; but after admission the black recruits are given access to extensive compensatory support (reduced course loads, intensive tutoring, etc).
The results displayed in Table 1D and Table 1E in Part 1 of this report show that:
- Black students in some institions graduated at higher 6-year rates than their white peers; at most institutions the black students graduated at somewhat slower rates; but at none of these institutions were the black graduation rates so far below the overall average as to suggest that the black students should not have enrolled in these institutions. In other words, there is no evidence of overmatching.
- The first part of the current study also suggests that black students do better when their classmates have higher math aptitudes
Indeed, the only thing that readers familiar with Crossing the Finish Line might find surprising about the results in Table 1D and Table 1E is the extent to which this pattern is displayed more sharply in Table 1E for the private Non-Research Institutions than in Table 1D for the Research Institutions.
- While the black students at the Higher Non-Research Institutions do better than black students at the Lower Non-Research Institutions, they are also do much better than the black students at all three types of research institutions.
- The ultimate explanations certainly won't relate to the resources available to non-research institutions because, for the most part, research institutions are much larger and wealthier than non-research institutions.
- A more plausible hypothesis leaps to mind -- if only because it's bannered in large fonts on all the Websites and in all the printed catalogs of these small, but highly esteemed colleges and universities. The fact that they don't conduct extensive research programs enables their faculty and staff to enhance their teaching with maximum TLC (tender loving care) ... which is the same "secret sauce" that HBCUs, most of which are also smaller institutions, have traditionally lavished on their students ... :-)
That more than 60,000 black students are now attending the nation's most esteemed institutions of higher learning came as a pleasant surprise for me. To be honest, I wasn't expecting half that many. 60,000 represents two percent of the 3 million black students currently enrolled in accredited U.S. colleges and universities. I was surprised because, like most educators, I have been focused on the 98 percent, most of whom have not received an education that adequately matches their aptitudes and requirements.
Although Dr. DuBois referenced a talented 10 percent, I am sure he would agree that it's more important to enhance the constructive impact of this elite than its percentage. So no matter what the Supreme Court eventually decides about affirmative action, we have to maintain our focus on the grand challenge that Dr. DuBois posed in the opening and closing lines of his classic essay:
- How can we encourage our black elite to provide the leadership that will enable their less fortunate brothers and sisters to obtain better educational opportunities and to make better use of the opportunities they already have???
Fortunately, as per Dr. Maya A. Beasley's extensive exploration of the attitudes of high achieving black students at Stanford University and UC Berkeley, Opting Out: Losing the Potential of America's Young Black Elite, a strong desire to "give back to the community" is still deeply ingrained in their DNA:
"African Americans have a lengthy tradition of activism and community service that predates the founding of the NAACP at the turn of the twentieth century. This heritage is reflected in the success of the civil rights movement as well as the subsequent expansion of black professionals in racialized occupational fields like education, social services, community relations, and politics. The desire to improve the fates of African Americans is truly an enduring legacy. The majority of black students in this study articulated a strong desire to aid in black social mobility, and many students believed their career choices were closely tied to their desire to decrease black inequality" (p 127)
Dr. Beasley uses the term "racialized fields" to denote well-integrated occupations wherein blacks have already gained substantial access and prominence. Unfortunately, our knowledge-based, globalized economy is now allocating the biggest rewards to STEM, finance, and other high tech occupations wherein blacks are still grossly underrepresented.
- Therein lies the dilemma for talented black students. On the one hand, not being rich (and probably carrying extensive tuition loans), they are attracted by the higher paychecks provided by non-racialized careers; on the other hand it's easy for them to see how their success in racialized fields will have substantial immediate impact on the Black Community.
Faced with their perceptions (real or imagined) of prejudice in non-racialized fields, plus a sense that these fields have limited relevance to the immediate needs the black community, some of these talented black students "opt out" of the higher paying, high tech job to pursue "careers that matter."
- But therein also lies the dilemma for the Black Community. Of course it still needs to develop new leaders in the racialized fields that have become such a significant part of its traditional economic base; but it will incur far larger, long-term economic losses if its elites do not gain access and prominence in the STEM, finance, and the other high tech occupations that have become the higher reward sectors of the global economy.
3. Ineffective Connections
Opting Out reports that a major factor that influenced the decisions of black students to transfer out of STEM and high finance majors was their limited access to persons who were knowledgeable about these non-racialized fields. As consequence, the students didn't know much, and much of what they thought they knew was suspect.
- Although their parents and the friends of their parents might have helped them navigate the procedural obstacles that had to be overcome in order to gain admission to Stanford or UC Berkeley, they could not provide hands-on guidance with regards navigating the barriers to entry into STEM and high finance. By contrast, the white students in the study had parents or had access to friends of their parents who were practicing professionals in these fields.
For example, "... Jason, an aspiring banker (and eventual CEO), was hindered by the limits of the social networks with which he had been brought up. He had no clear concept of how to break into that field. Although supportive, Jason's parents had little education and no understanding of what his options were, nor did anyone from the community in which he was raised. So Jason was left puzzled, wanting to go somewhere, but unsure how." (p 146)
- It's also likely that the black students had limited access to, or even awareness of the existence of the black alumni of their esteemed institutions who had become practicing professionals in these fields a few years earlier. Whereas HBCUs celebrate the achievements of their alumni who are the "first blacks" to become a this or that, elite non-HBCUs don't celebrate their black alums. Why not? Because elite non-HBCUs long ago graduated hundreds if not thousands of (mostly white) alums who had become eminent practitioners in all segments of STEM and high finance. So a few more entries wouldn't become the stuff of headlines on their Websites or announcements in their alumni newsletters ... and it would be awkward for esteemed non-HBCUs to ballyhoo the latest entries just because these accomplished alums happened to be black.
4. Workable Responses to a Focused Challenge
The pressing need to get more highly talented blacks into STEM, finance, and other high tech careers translates into the need for strategies that will enable them to overcome the substantial hurdles to entry and subsequent success in these non-racialized fields while satisfying their desires to "give back." We need strategies that will simultaneously finesse the dilemmas facing black students making individual career choices and the dilemmas confronting the Black Community as a whole that are the consequences of these individual career choices. Fortunately, such strategies already exist and are already in practice; so it's just a matter of stimulating their diffusion and more widespread application ... :-)
Individual Linkages
Talented black men and women pursuing non-racialized careers should be encouraged to understand that one of the most potent ways they can "give back" right now is to share what they have learned about how they got to wherever they are with younger black men and women who aspire to similar careers; and they should consciously measure their success in this effort to contribute to the Black Community by how many younger black men and women they successfully mentor. What does all this mean? It means the same things at all levels, but it looks different at different levels:
- Black students in their freshmen and sophomore years at elite colleges and universities should volunteer to assist their institution's efforts to attract more talented black high school juniors and seniors by participating in recruiting trips wherein they answer questions about application forms, what courses to take before the students apply, how to prepare for SAT exams, etc, etc, etc ... and the all-important underlying question: What's it really like to be a black student majoring in STEM, finance, or some other high tech field at the world-renowned University of XYZ???
- Black students in their junior and senior years should participate in high school recruiting drives, but should also volunteer as tutors and mentors for the black freshmen and sophomores.
- Black alums should participate in their alma mater's placement programs wherein they act as career counselors, role models, and mentors for juniors and seniors to facilitate their successful entry into the job market, graduate schools, and professional schools.
Traditional Networks Enhanced by Social Media
The Black Community long ago recognized the value of good connections for professional success.
- Its fraternities not only accept members while they are in college, but throughout their subsequent careers, a practice that makes them more akin to the Masons or Chambers of Commerce.
- A recent survey by the Pew Foundation ("Who's On What) reports that black Americans make far more intensive use of social media than white Americans.
- Given that there are at least 60,000 black students currently enrolled in America's most prestigious colleges and universities, there must be at least an equal number of alums at various stages of their professional careers.
Combining these factors with social media should fuel the rapid development of powerful, overlapping national and local networks, networks that could greatly enhance the size and the impact of the high tech segment of the Talented Tenth.
Just as online courses are revolutionizing higher education by enabling students to learn any subject from the comfort and convenience of their dorm rooms, offices, and homes, so too appropriate applications of social media will revolutionize the potential impact of the Talented Tenth upon itself, upon the rest of the Black Community, and upon the entire nation because tutoring, mentoring, and career counseling can now be provided and received from smartphones and tablets. When Dr. Beasley conducted the interviews for her study ten years ago, "Jason" didn't have any black colleagues who could help him figure out how to get to the next phase in his career. That shouldn't happen today.
5. The Talented Tenth, HBCUs, MSIs, and Black Higher Education
During the initial phases of this mobilzation, current students and alums will probably focus on serving as mentors, role models, tutors, and career counselors for the black students who are enrolled in their own alma maters. But as quickly as possible, these intramural subnets should be expanded to provide intercollegiate support networks for the black students at HBCUs and other minority serving institutions (MSIs) having high black enrollments. Alums of America's most prestigious institutions should also consider teaching online courses at HBCUs and MSIs as adjunct instructors from time to time.
And those who are committed to pursuing full-time careers in academia should seek one or two-term appointments as assistant professors at HBCUs at early points in their careers and become visiting professors from time to time at later points should they obtain tenured positions at more prestigious institutions. During both appointments they should focus their energies on helping HBCUs to develop innovative technology-based teaching procedures that will enable all colleges and universities to provide more effective learning opportunities for all black students.
"The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."
W.E.B. DuBois, The Talented Tenth, September, 1903
_______________________
References
- Beasley, Maya. 2011. Opting Out: Losing the Potential of America's Young Black Elite. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Bowen, William G., Matthew W. Chingos, and Michael S. McPhersonn. 2009. Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
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