Chapter 6: Structuring Opportunity: Tracking Students at a “Single-Track” High School

Despite the continued existence of significant racial inequalities in higher education and beyond, policies and programs developed to improve access for underrepresented students of color seldom go unchallenged. This is evidenced by recent disputes of race-conscious admissions policies brought against the University of Michigan (Gratz v. Bollinge r, 2003; Grutter v. Bollinger , 2003). These cases, like the Bakke v. the Regents of the University of California (1978) case before them, affirmed the use of race-conscious policies in recruitment and admission to American colleges and universities. However, race-based policy is only permissible in the service of a “compelling interest,” extending the educational benefits of diversity to the student body and not redressing prior discrimination or present-day disparities in access to higher education. In other words, like Bakke , the Supreme Court’s holdings in the Grutter and Gratz cases declare increasing access to underrepresented students of color is only an important goal to the extent campus racial diversity provides an educational benefit for all students. The implication is improving access for underrepresented students is not itself a worthy goal (Bell, 2004).