A Poor Test Case

Last week, the Boston School Committee voted to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a recent federal court decision striking down racial preferences in admissions to the Boston Latin School, the city's most prestigious public high school. If the high court decides to hear the case, it would be the first appeal involving affirmative action in the realm of public schools. A broad ruling could have widespread national repercussions, setting a precedent for any race-conscious policy in any school district.

While we are in favor of using racial preferences as one factor in school admissions, the Boston Latin standard--which admits 50 percent of its class solely on grades and test scores and the other 50 percent on race, grades and test scores--is too narrow. Though the system admirably attempts to create a diverse class, it excessively compromises standards of fairness which the Boston lower courts have repeatedly recognized.

Furthermore, past experience with the Supreme Court shows the high court would most likely not hear the case at all or rule against such a narrow conception of diversity. Given the potential significance of a ruling in this arena, it is both dangerous and unwise for the Boston School Committee to pursue this appeal. Instead, we would urge the school district to formulate an alternative admissions plan which, if challenged, would make a more favorable test case for standards of diversity in secondary education.

We are worried that a Supreme Court ruling against Boston Latin could be used as a sword to end all racial preferences in public secondary schools, especially prestigious magnet schools. In New York City, where the four specialized high schools admit students strictly on the basis of an entrance test, black and Hispanic students represent fewer than 10 percent of those enrolled. Next year, when Boston Latin switches to a temporary race-blind admissions policy, some estimate black and Hispanic enrollment could drop to 13 percent; system-wide, black and Hispanic students make up 75 percent of Boston's 64,000 students. Selective public schools are often feeders into selective colleges and universities. And given the sad state of the city's public schools, for many underprivileged students these exam schools are the only means towards a quality post-secondary education.

It would be in the best interests of both Boston Latin and its students, for the school to drop the pending appeal and instead concentrate its efforts in developing a broader admissions policy, such as the one employed by Harvard and many other colleges. By incorporating a number of varied factors--which include grades, socioeconomic background, extracurricular interests and race--these admissions programs recognize individual achievement and potential rather than simple racial or ethnic classifications.

We realize developing such a program would require the school district to hire and train qualified admissions officers at a considerable expense. But the benefits far outweigh the costs. A plan of this type would not only be more likely to withstand inevitable legal challenges but also serve as a model for other public secondary schools searching for a viable and constitutional method of preserving diversity in the classroom--which was Boston's intent in the first place.