Most adults in the U.S., regardless of their own background or political affiliation, believe the Supreme Court should not ban or prohibit the consideration of race and ethnicity in the college admissions process, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
This comes as the Supreme Court is hearing two cases — one from the University of North Carolina and the other from Harvard University — on whether the schools discriminate against White and Asian American applicants.
While two-thirds of Americans do agree that the race component should remain on the table, they also agree that it shouldn’t play a major role in decision-making.
Nearly 70% of adults said race and ethnicity should not be an important factor in the admissions process. On the other hand, 62% ranked high school grades as extremely important, and 47% said the same of standardized test scores.
More college admissions are going 'test optional' for SAT, ACT
As more colleges do away with standardized test requirements, research shows hopeful students may have a fairer chance of admission.
As the Supreme Court hears the cases of possible discrimination against certain applicants, Americans’ confidence in the Supreme Court has been steadily declining.
Only 12% overall have considerable confidence in the Supreme Court, down from 28% in February 2020.
