The Future of Affirmative Action: Reclaiming the Innovative Ideal
Author(s)
Sturm, Susan; Guinier, Lani
Abstract
This article reframes the discussion of affirmative action to focus on the underlying question of how to allocate high stakes opportunities in an increasingly diverse and changing environment. Along with its critics, many proponents of affirmative action leave unchallenged embedded assumptions that conventional processes of selecting workers and students are functional and fair. Proponents also argue that affirmative action programs serve as limited exceptions to these normally adequate and unbiased processes. In fact there are significant flaws in the way institutions select among applicants, and the debate over affirmative action can serve as an opportunity for institutions to evaluate and reform conventional selection processes in general. This article shows that the current “meritocracy” is neither fair nor functional. This purported “meritocracy” is actually a “testocracy” that is founded on the use of standardized tests to predict future accomplishment in work and study. These tests fail to predict future performance for the majority of test takers, and do not equip employers and educational institutions to respond to the demands of an unpredictable, rapidly changing economy. The authors argue that there is a need for a new paradigm for recruitment, selection, and promotion, and they offer as one alternative a framework for selection that shifts the focus from prediction to experience based on structured, participatory, and accountable assessment.
