Leveling the Playing Field

Robert K. Fullinwider is a senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park. Judith Lichtenberg is associate professor of philosophy and a senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park.

• Part 1 Introduction: April Is the Cruellest MonthChapter 2 Another Side of the StoryChapter 3 The Flux of Supply and DemandChapter 4 SelectivityChapter 5 The Perspective of the CollegesChapter 6 Higher Education and the Enhancement of OpportunityChapter 7 Justice for Whom?Chapter 8 Outline of the BookPart 9 Demystifying MeritChapter 10 Detecting MeritChapter 11 How the Rewards of Merit RamifyChapter 12 Merit and Other Selection CriteriaChapter 13 Merit and Its LimitsChapter 14 Merit and DesertChapter 15 Sports: a Case StudyPart 16 The Multiple Missions of Modern UniversitiesChapter 17 Let a Thousand Colleges Bloom!Chapter 18 The Social Roles of the Modern UniversityChapter 19 Historical RootsChapter 20 The Facets of Liberal EducationChapter 21 Constituencies and the WholeChapter 22 Missions and AdmissionsChapter 23 Justice and DifferentiationPart 24 Open Admissions and the Community CollegesChapter 25 Open Admissions at CUNYChapter 26 Dilemmas of RemediationChapter 27 From Policy Voted to Policy EnactedChapter 28 Remediation, Second Chances, and Community CollegesPart 29 How the Academically Rich Get RicherChapter 30 Irrelevant AdvantagesChapter 31 MoneyChapter 32 The Legacy of LegacyChapter 33 Early DecisionChapter 34 An Uneven Outbreak of DisabilitiesChapter 35 College Counseling and Conspicuous Educational ConsumptionChapter 36 The Rich, the Poor, and the RestPart 37 The Test: Understanding the SATChapter 38 The Regatta QuestionChapter 39 Is the SAT Fair?Chapter 40 Is the SAT Valid and Reliable?Chapter 41 How Useful Is the SAT?Chapter 42 Cultural Bias and Unfairness RevisitedChapter 43 A Porsche Held Together with Duct TapePart 44 Admissions Tests: Uses, Abuses, AlternativesChapter 45 The SAT and Real-Life Admissions ChoicesChapter 46 The Real Costs: Race RevisitedChapter 47 A Radically Different Approach?Chapter 48 Test PrepChapter 49 Some ConclusionsPart 50 The SAT on TrialChapter 51 A First Attack: the SAT and the Regents ScholarshipsChapter 52 A Second Attack: the SAT and the NCAAChapter 53 A Performance-Based SolutionChapter 54 Legal Threat to the SAT?Part 55 Affirmative Action and the Legacy of BakkeChapter 56 The Legal FoundationChapter 57 Bakke: Fractured Law, Opaque GuidanceChapter 58 The Other SideChapter 59 Missed OpportunitiesChapter 60 Coda: The Vagaries of Title VIPart 61 Justifying Affirmative ActionChapter 62 Blind UniversitiesChapter 64 A Compelling Interest: The Answer SuppliedChapter 65 The Link Between Ends and MeansChapter 66 Moral PrinciplesChapter 67 "Treat Persons as Individuals"Chapter 68 "Do Not Discriminate"Chapter 69 A Last Word On Affirmative ActionPart 70 Sowing the Seeds of Higher EducationChapter 71 Class Preferences and "X Percent Solutions"Chapter 72 Pre-College InterventionsChapter 73 GEAR UP and College NowChapter 74 The Persistence of the Black-White Achievement GapPart 75 Summing Up, Looking AheadChapter 76 Theory and PracticeChapter 77 Affirmative Action and the Missions of American UniversitiesChapter 78 The Use of Standardized Tests in AdmissionsChapter 79 Closing the GapsChapter 80 Reforms at Selective Colleges

This provocative, engaging, and timely book deserves a wide audience. It provides a lens through which the world of selective college admissions can be viewed in a new and insightful way.