ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the X-percent plans three states (California, Texas, and Florida) recently adopted following the forced or voluntary end of affirmative action in those states. It addresses the controversy over merit and the use of standardized tests in the admissions process, and discusses two alternatives (Class-based Alternative and Bold Alternative) to X-percent plans if affirmative action is banned across the United States. Critics consider that affirmative action in college admissions is a racial preference that clearly violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. For some, the belief was that the use of affirmative action in college admissions was necessary not only because of the historical discrimination of higher education institutions, but also because of the historical and present discrimination in the provision of adequate K-12 public education. The state of race-based admissions is due to the unsettled issue of race in America.
