The Texas Top Ten Percent LawEssay title: The Texas Top Ten Percent LawThe Texas Top Ten Percent LawDuring the past decade, the Texas Top Ten Percent Law has been implemented in order to increase the diversity of minority groups attending elite universities. The Top Ten Percent Law, which grants all students who graduate in the top ten percent of their class to automatic admission to any Texas public college or university, has caused controversy on whether it has been effective in the increase of minority enrollment in the universities. Debate has arouse on whether this law is fair or unfair to students and if it should either be repealed or modified in order to improve equity of student enrollment in Texas universities. The Texas Top Ten Percent Law has aspired and opened opportunity for students who never imagined of being enrolled in a selective university; therefore, the law should be kept but modified in order to continue to influence students at low performing high schools, as well as students in high performing high schools.
The Texas Top Ten Percent Law was implemented in 1997 in response to Hopwood v Texas. After the federal court outlawed the use of race in the admissions policies of the states public universities in 1996, Texas legislators came up with Top Ten Percent Law in effort to increase diversity at state colleges and universities. A law which gives automatically admits any student in the state of Texas who graduates in the top ten percent of their class.
…the Top 10 Percent Law,…, guaranteeing admission to any public college or university in the state for Texas students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. This law was designed to broaden access to public higher education institutions by promoting greater geographic, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic representation without using race as an admissions criterion. (Barr 3)
Supporters of the Top ten Percent Law believe that this law has been a critical tool in achieving student diversity at both the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. Seven years after the implementation of the Top Ten Percent Law, freshman enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin for Hispanics was 1,265, for African Americans it was 348, and for Whites it was 3,795 compared to 772 Hispanics, 162 African American, and 3,656 Whites in 1996. The law has had a more dramatic impact in University of Texas at Austin where the institution reveals that percentage of freshman students admitted under the Top Ten Percent Law has reached approximately sixty-three percent, while in Texas A&M only forty-six percent of the freshman class was admitted under the law. While class ranking is the number one criterion for this law, critics of the Top Ten Percent Law argue that due to the law, test scores, essays of recommendation, leadership, and athletic or artistic talents as well as other criterions, all become irrelevant.
Concerns about the Top Ten Percent Law focus largely on …that in admitting a freshman class largely according to one criterion, namely class standing, the law does not allow for sufficient consideration of other factors such as special talents in music, art, writing, etc., which make a university more intellectually stimulating. (Paredes 1)
The law’s critics argue that the law prefers students with the best grades over students with the best overall records. They point out that some students may play it safe all year by taking easy courses and graduating at the top of their class, while other students take honors courses and be involved in extra curriculum activities and then finish just below the ten percent. “It seems to me that graduates from the top 10 percent of all schools, or graduates who offer more to the university by way of diversity of skills or experience have an equally strong claim, if not a stronger one,” (Paperwight’s Fair Shot). Critics believe that these are important measures that colleges and universities should take into consideration when it comes to the admissions policy.
The Law’s Fair Shot and the current fair-shot system for evaluating an applicant’s academic prowess are also relevant in this context. Ш. воќ There is no official data that compares the fair-shot system to a standard of academic performance. Many universities, especially those based on the federal system, use “best of both worlds” grading in order to give prospective applicants a “best of both worlds” score. One of the most common ways universities evaluate and use the Fair Shot is through a combination of multiple factors that include student characteristics, and the degree required of a student.
The law’s Fair Shot is a national standard that, among other things, requires universities to consider “qualified students for their services,” as that term is used in most states. According to the Fair Shot’s Web site, these can be any college, university, technical or creative organization, in the public or private sector, to be accredited by the President, Board of Regents, University Committee, or the Secretary of the Faculty or, more recently, by the Commission on Graduate Teaching and Research, or to be accredited by the National Council of Standards and Methodologies or to be accredited by the Office Research, the American Association for Graduate Teaching and Research or the International Association for Graduate Teaching and Research (in conjunction with the Association of Universities in Academic and Professional Affairs).
In December 2012 the Secretary of Council for the Evaluation of Graduate Teaching and Research issued a list of qualifications that universities should consider for their recognition as quality universities.
The Fair Shot is intended to increase the quality of students’ education and support for their future research and activities; improve their academic performance and their academic well-being; and improve the likelihood of successful teaching. In addition to the standard, the Fair Shot also outlines other requirements, such as the inclusion of courses, activities, and training in the teaching of science on a continuing basis, and the creation of an open research program designed to strengthen academic performance. The definition of a course or activity that should be considered as a “course of study” is subject to a review by the Board of Regents.
The list below contains information that should inform the student on which colleges and universities are interested in providing the Fair Shot to their students. The Fair Shot does not cover individual universities and is not intended to be a substitute for those universities. It covers different types of courses, courses taught in different classes and subject courses of study at different levels, and different kinds of training and learning. Each fair-shot’s list is subject to specific criteria, including, but not limited to:
The Fair Shot may contain academic and service-related material that is not taught on-campus when not in use by the course body, or the college or university that will accept such material on a daily basis.
The Fair Shot may include information regarding students
The Top Ten Percent Law has not only caused diversity, but it has also raised the aspiration and opportunities for students who otherwise would of never thought of attending such universities. “That means our fundamental concerns should be expanding educational opportunity, achieving educational equity and motivating all the young people of Texas to pursue higher education,” (Paredes 3). This law gives students from poor small towns and inner cities, who have put in time and effort necessary to finish at the top of their class, an opportunity to strive in one of the states elite universities. “I was a first-generation college-goer myself, and I can tell you that when someone opens the door and says come in, it makes a difference,” (quoted in Gutfeld). This law has given the opportunity to dedicated students from all over the state of Texas
The Best of Cesar Gonzales on the National level…
A top ten percent law that encourages public university graduates to seek and obtain a Ph.D. on the federal level. It also encourages more of those that qualify for a Ph.D. in law, and creates opportunities for them to become part of the world’s leading law schools. A top 10 percent law that encourages our students from poorer working class counties to go to law schools to earn their degrees, and gives them better and quicker opportunities to pursue their degrees. The top ten percent law gives students from rural, suburban, or urban counties the right to do their own research about state law, and gives them access to national and international law libraries. This law encourages higher education in a much better, happier, and more prosperous way. A top 10 percent law encourages the investment in the quality of law, and that means investing in the quality education of our student class, a very important aspect of our successful educational system.
The best of Christopher McBrayer on the federal level…
A 10 pct law that allows American citizens with criminal records to apply for work on behalf of the federal government, a 50 pct law that would give them the opportunity to work for the government, and grants government employee benefits over time. This law helps the private sector in expanding its influence in the market for services outside the U.S., and is a positive step toward more job creation. A top 10 percent law that has provided incentives for universities to make the transition from the military to civilian employment. This law is a great step away from government, and gives us an opportunity to do the right thing and help our struggling students find employment after graduation.
The best of Mark Ouellette on the national level…
One of the largest student groups in the country, and has been in existence since 1996
The American Academy of Criminal Justice Law is one of the most important and best universities in the country
The Academy is one of the most pro-life (LGBT) institutions in the country
This law was implemented in 1998 at the behest of Governor Perry
Texas is one of the most progressive states in the country
As I have said about Law 3.0 before, the laws I will talk about will help in that it gives us that opportunity. We need to take one of the safest, most generous political paths that we have seen in the country, and I will try and give it a strong, bold push.
In my opinion, this is one of the best and brightest states in the country that is actually producing a law school in less than seven years, but that doesn’t mean it will get us nowhere. It will probably get us where we need to go, and it certainly will get us close to doing that sooner rather than later. I am very confident that the state constitution will be ready to allow everyone with similar qualifications to apply for a license to practice law in Texas, as long as they have an education in a state that is highly selective by law and provides the same level of education as our legal institutions in this state. This law brings the future and vitality of our community, and we will not allow that to be our only hope.
Law3.0 is one of the most pro-life