10% Plan in Texas

 In response the ruling established during the Hopwood v. Texas trial which banned the use of affirmative action with respect to college admissions, the Texas House Bill 588, better known as the "10% rule," was formed. In the state of Texas, every students who graduates in the top 10% of their high school class is guaranteed admission to the state universities. It should be noted however, that while the plan guarantees admission, it does not impact funding in any way. This alternative system has seen both praise and criticism since its inception.

One argument against the 10% plan suggests that individuals are essentially starting to "play the system." According to an article by Peter Schmidt entitled Texas’ 10% Plan Found to Influence Choice of High School, "A recent study showed that a significant share of young people in Texas select a high school based on whether they are likely to graduate with a class rank high enough to guarantee them admission to any Texas public college under the state’s 'top-10-percent plan.' Such decisions to enroll in high school based on class-rank considerations have the effect of making many such high schools slightly more racially integrated while knocking minority students out of the pool of college applicants qualifying for the state’s class-rank-based college-admission guarantee, the researchers found (http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/texas-10-plan-found-to-influence-choice-of-high-school/29601)."

According to Larry Faulkner, president of the University of Texas, a major problem with the current plan is that the universities are being forced to accept too many of these students. A CBS article entitled Is the 'Top 10' Plan Unfair? two thirds of UT's freshman class were "10 percenters." Additionally, the article highlights that if every student who qualified under the 10% plan actually attended UT, the university would not be able to handle it. "Faulkner, who long supported the law, now wants it revised to cap the number of top 10 percenters at no more than half of any incoming class (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-the-top-10-plan-unfair/).

While some believe that the plan needs to be revised, others feel that it should be eliminated. Wentworth has argued the repeal the law entirely, and has garnered support from many voters who think their kids are now being shut out of the system. Wentworth argues that, "The current situation in Texas is that you can have a young man who is an Eagle Scout, who's president of his student council and captain of his football team. But because he's in the top 12 percent, he's not automatically admitted. But somebody else who's in the top 10 percent, who didn't even take the recommended curriculum for college work, who took the minimum curriculum, automatically goes to the University of Texas at Austin -- and that's not fair." Wentworth also argues that the current plan is unfair to everyone involved. "It's unfair to the more rigorous student. It's also unfair to the other one who's not as prepared. Because what happens is they get in these flagship institutions and they're not prepared academically for the very rigorous training they get at that higher education institution. And some of them don't last. They wind up quitting, very frustrated because they weren't prepared even though they graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class." (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-the-top-10-plan-unfair/). While this arugment seems logical, some research actually suggests otherwise.

Larry Faulkner notes that students from minority schools are doing very well at the university. He stated, "I don't think that it's dumbed down the University of Texas. We have the highest graduation rate in this history of the university as well as the highest freshman retention rates. We also have the highest SAT scores and class rank in the history of the university. So I don't think there's any evidence (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-the-top-10-plan-unfair/)."

Overall, this alternative to race-based affirmative action in Texas is one that has both benefits and drawbacks. As this plan continues to be scrutinized and adapted, it may remain a viable alternative for college admissions programs.