Education

University Grading Based On Race, NOT Merit

Julia Dent Contributor
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The University of Wisconsin-Madison has taken affirmative action to a new level. Instead of giving grades on how well you do in class, grades will be determined by race.

The new policy, called “Framework for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence,” calls for “proportional participation of historically underrepresented racial-ethnic groups at all levels of an institution, including high-status special programs, high-demand majors, and in the distribution of grades,” according to IJ Review.

UWM Professor Emeritus W. Lee Hansen was angered by the policy, and wrote about his concerns, Western Journalism reports.

“Suppose there were a surge of interest in a high demand field such as computer science,” he said. “Under the ‘equity’ policy, it seems that some of those who want to study this field would be told that they’ll have to choose another major because computer science already has ‘enough’ students from their ‘difference’ group.”

“Professors, instead of just awarding the grade that each student earns, would apparently have to adjust them so that academically weaker, ‘historically underrepresented racial/ethnic’ students perform at the same level and receive the same grades as academically stronger students.”