Trying to read more about the Milwaukee criminal record study -- can't find the research paper just yet, just articles giving a cursory run through of it without mentioning the numbers. if you know the sample size, let me know. The results sound pretty damning, but I want to make sure it's not statistical noise (from a difference of like 3 or 4 applicants) than a largescale thing. In that case, that would be fucked.
Edit: found it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3807133/ Yep, 700 tests at p < .01. You're right, there is racial bias in this case. Thanks for showing me this.
Thank you, sincerely, for engaging.
I found this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/09/16/racial-disparities-in-college-major-selection-exacerbates-earnings-gap-3/?utm_term=.97a875b9dcb6There is no singular reason for the racial disparities within majors, but centuries of racial discrimination, uneven budgetary support for K-12 education and poor academic advising and student support contribute to the problem, said Tom Allison, deputy director of policy and research at Young Invincibles, and one of the authors of the study.
At the University of Maryland Baltimore County, chemistry professor William LaCourse has seen his share of students of color with a lot of potential lose interest in science fields when they struggle in a course.
A student comes in from high school with good grades, takes a chemistry or a math course and gets a C. But on the other hand, he takes a sociology or English course and gets an A. Which one do they think they’re better suited for?” said LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC. “We can try to get to them before that C, bring them in over the summer, give them prep course, get them good advising.”
To that end, LaCourse applied for and won an $18 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to increase diversity in biomedical research at UMBC. The program, which started this year, provides extra academic support to high-potential students who are at risk of not completing their STEM degrees.
For at least the last decade, there has been a national focus on steering more students, especially minorities, into STEM majors that play a critical role in the global economy. The nation’s 105 historically black schools have had remarkable success in producing graduates in engineering, science and mathematics, despite limited endowments and institutional resources. For instance, a third of all African American students who earn bachelors degrees in math and statistics attend HBCU. Yet with just 3 percent of the college population, historically black schools can only achieve so much.
Nicole Norfles, of the Council for Opportunity in Education, said that for many minority students, it’s about exposure to these fields and the ability to academically succeed in them.
Many of these students may be coming from high schools without Advanced Placement programs or quality math and science courses, environments that may not encourage them to pursue STEM degrees,” Norfles said.
Although the true worth of a college degree is greater than its economic value, securing a well-paid job has become critical in the age of five-figure student debt. Nearly 80 percent of African Americans borrow to pay for college and take on debt loads that are 15 percent higher than the average student. That kind of financial burden could be difficult to overcome with a low salary.
The study arrives as the Obama administration has revised its College Scorecard Web site to include comprehensive data on how much students earn after leaving school. While the scorecard provides salary estimates by individual college, there is no program level data, which Allison said could be used to better inform policy.
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So for my money, I’d say major choice exacerbates the problem.