Ricci ruling won’t affect college admissions policies, experts say
Leave a CommentAs the Supreme Court weighed this spring whether the city of New Haven was wrong in throwing out a 2003 Fire Department promotion exam because the scores of black firefighters were much lower than the scores of white firefighters, many wondered if its eventual verdict would impact the realm of higher education. Could a decision regarding the multiple-choice firefighters’ exam be applied to other standardized, multiple-choice exams, like the SAT?
Now that the Court has ruled, the answer, according to experts, appears to be no.
While the SAT, like the firefighters’ promotion exam, has been found to reflect higher scores among whites — a fact obliquely referenced by Justice Anthony Kennedy in his majority opinion, which said the city was indeed wrong in throwing out the test — the SAT is not an exam relating to employment and therefore would not be affected by the Court’s decision.