ABSTRACT
Consider two applicants to a selective college. The first applicant graduated with a 3.7 grade point average from a high school that typically sends few students to college; her parents are poor, neither of them has a college degree, and they live in a neighborhood with low property values and high unemployment. Suppose that the average SAT I score for an applicant from these circumstances is 900, but this applicant scored 1190. The second applicant graduated with a 3.7 grade-point average from a high school where college-going is the norm; his parents are wealthy, they both have advanced degrees, and they live in a neighborhood with high property values and low unemployment. Suppose the average SAT I score for an applicant from these circumstances is 1200, but this applicant scored 1290. If the college must choose between these students, should it select the more advantaged student who scored 90 points better than expected? Or should it select the disadvantaged student who, despite scoring 100 points lower, surpassed expectations by 290 points, more than three times the margin achieved by her peer? This paper presents a method for deciding – that is, for taking account of socioeconomic inequality and its role in precollege achievement.
