Third rail of college admissions?

[Mastadon]

If elite schools are viewed as the gateway to the upper class, then why is it surprising that the entrance criteria is biased toward those who exhibit the defining characteristic of the upper class, which is wealth?

After all, it is the gatekeepers that define the admission criteria.

Let’s not forget that standardized testing also introduces a strong economic, cultural and racial bias to the admissions process…

The College Board announced Wednesday that it is overhauling the SAT, dropping the timed essay and focusing less on fancy vocabulary in order to level the playing field a bit for high school students from a wider range of families. The organization’s own data show that wealthier Americans, from more educated families, tend to do far better on the best. As do white and Asian Americans, and those students who had the opportunity to take the PSAT in high school before taking the SAT. Almost certainly, these four findings have common origins in that the SAT benefits families who can provide their kids with a better education and more test prep. But here are four charts that show how the SAT advantages specific demographics.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/?utm_term=.ec3e2d4f4842