groups constituted 30 percent of the under-18 population at that time (College Entrance Examination Board, 1999).

The underrepresentation of minority students is especially severe in mathematics- and science-based majors. This underrepresentation is not due to lack of interest on the part of students. In fact, most high school students heading for college select roughly the same intended majors, regardless of their ethnic background. For example, in a national survey, 21.5 percent of black students, 21.5 percent of Hispanic students and 20.9 percent of white students selected science or engineering as their intended majors in 1998. This data includes majors in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics and computer sciences (National Science Board, 2000).

The task force also documented very low percentages of high performers among minority students on various tests, including the SAT I and the National Assessment of Educational Progress assessments in reading, mathematics, and science. Critics of standardized testing often attribute these low percentages of minority students among high achievers—and the low average scores of certain minority groups—to cultural and economic biases or other deficiencies of the tests.³ Although it is well documented that family income levels are positively correlated with student achievement levels, low minority academic performance is not restricted to the children of low-income families. In 1998, the mean SAT I scores of white and Asian students in low-income families, defined as families earning less than $20,000, were higher than the mean SAT I scores of African-American students in high-income families, defined as families earning more than $60,000 (Gandara & Maxwell-Jolly, 1999). Thus, variation in family income is only one of several factors that affect test scores, and the contribution of these factors to minority test scores appears to be less than is often presumed.

The predictive value of test scores is another issue that is more complex than generally thought. One would expect that given the impoverished primary and secondary schools many minority students attend, these students would so flourish academically once they reach the fertile soil of higher education that their performance in college would be better than their SAT I scores would predict. Instead, the SAT I scores of minority students overpredict performance at traditionally white colleges and universities (Bowen & Bok, 1998; College Entrance Examination Board, 1999). In other words, within the same range of SAT I scores, the average college grades of minority students are lower than the average college grades of white students.

The overall evidence on the correlates and predictive value of test scores suggests a pernicious problem—namely, that the forces impeding the academic achievement of minority students persist and take new forms at each level of

Front Matter (R1-R10)

The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do: Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions (1-35)

The Role of Diversity in the Training of Health Professionals (36-56)

Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Physicians: An Intervention to Address Health Disparities? (57-90)

Current Legal Status of Affirmative Action Programs in Higher Education (91-116)

College Admissions Policies and the Educational Pipeline: Implications for Medical and Health Professions (117-142)

Toward Diverse Student Representation and Higher Achievement in Higher Levels of the American Educational Meritocracy (143-184)

Trends in Underrepresented Minority Participation in Health Professions Schools (185-207)

Inequality in Teaching and Schooling: How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America (208-233)

Lost Opportunities: The Difficult Journey to Higher Education for Underrepresented Minority Students (234-259)

Systemic Reform and Minority Student High Achievement (260-280)

Sustaining Minorities in Prehealth Advising Programs: Challenges and Strategies for Success (281-304)

Rethinking the Admissions Process: Evaluation Techniques That Promote Inclusiveness in Admissions Decisions (305-327)

How Do We Retain Minority Health Professions Students? (328-360)

Addendum (361-366)