school. "Considering the general poorer quality of public secondary schools in minority neighborhoods, minority students would be less adequately prepared t score as high on college entrance tests as white students" (White, Two Views of Standardized Testing, p.335). Yet, scholars seldom consider this when they debate the lower level of minority students performance on college entrance exams."Nevertheless, there are sufficient data available to show that when the college entrance test scores of minority and White students of similar socio-economic status and background are compared, their scores are relatively comparable" (White Two Views of Standardized Testing, p.340). This supports the argument that the lack of financial resources, family situations, and other social and economic factors results in minority students being less prepared for college success. A blatant fallacy is the notion that low college entrance scores, or college entrance scores themselves, are the best measures and predictors of intelligence. These scores measure best what one has already learned both in and out of school, not ones intellectual capability or capacity to learn.In a recent report, Orfield and Paul (1988) concluded that four major issues are clearly linked to the declining admission and retention rates of minority students in higher education. According to Lang, these issues include:* segregation in primary and secondary schools*Increasing costs of higher education*Inadequate assistance to unprepared students *Lack of commitment to equal opportunity by institutions of higher education.Continuing segregation of minority students in primary and secondary schools with poor facilities affects every aspect of student preparedness. Orfield and Paul (1988) compared majority White schools to schools where more that five out of six students were from minority backgrounds. In most cases, the minority schools had:*Crowded classrooms*Teachers with fewer a...
