For their part, secondary school counselors don't seem to think Harvard has much to worry about. Ralph Ferrara, head of the college office at Stuyvesant High School in New York, who first heard of the Klitgaard report on television, says it's hard to get enough feedback from his 800 students to know if the report had affected them. While he notes that many minority students are seeking a small school, where they can receive closer attention, Ferrara doesn't think the report alone tarnished Harvard's reputation.
A number of secondary school counselors interviewed don't seem even to have heard of the report. John Kane, the new director of college placement at Philips Exeter Academy, says he is unfamiliar with it, although he adds that he doesn't "really pay close attention to the daily newspapers." While minority students at Exeter have some concerns about Amherst and Williams Colleges, he says, they don't seem to have any real worries about Harvard. Kevin Bowers, a guidance counselor at Boston Latin High School, also says he had not heard of the report. With about 70 people applying to Harvard each year, Boston Latin sends "all types of minorities" here, Bowers says, and they don't appear to be worried about whether they will be welcome.
While the men and women in Byerly Hall may worry a bit about the effects of the preliminary Klitgaard report, they want to hold off final judgement until the final report is released. But even if the next version is wanted down, it may not overshadow any negative results of the preliminary draft. On the other hand, the lure of the Harvard name may reign supreme--provided the admissions office continues to disassociate itself from Klitgaard's opinions. "Students that plan to apply to Harvard," the Stuyvesant High School counselor insists, "will apply anyway."
of Jews. Qualitatively, this explanation fits the observed facts. Quantitatively, its adequacy deserves further study since other explanations are also plausible.
120. Affirmative action programs go beyond the purview of the present report, but a few observations may be relevant. In fields where high test scores seem to be a pre-requisite for adequate academic performance, "affirmative action" may imply remedial education rather than lower standards or greater recruitment efforts in very limited pools.
121. Remedial efforts might include summer programs, special courses and counseling, and other efforts. In evaluating such efforts, three effects should be distinguished: (a) recruiting already capable students from other schools or disciplines (which might only lead to an inefficient and possibly unfair "price war"); (b) pre-screening applicants who as a group are too risky but among whom some are capable and can be identified through the remedial program; and (c) raising the ability of the students to carry forth their studies at Harvard. To my knowledge, few careful evaluations of remedial programs have been carried out.
122. Across universities and fields, black students tend to be about 1 to 1 1/2 standard deviations below whites on test scores and significantly lower on grades as well. Both blacks and whites may notice this pervasive disparity. In theory, this may be an undesirable result of affirmative