Harvard-UNC SCOTUS ruling puts pressure on K-12 to do better

With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down race preferences in university admissions in the much-anticipated Harvard-University of North Carolina case, the pressure is now on K-12 schools to produce college-ready students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups.

In the Harvard-UNC case, the court said that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants, who had the highest objective academic ratings, by using subjective factors, such as personality traits like kindness and likeability, to limit the number of Asian Americans accepted in favor of admitting students of other races.

The court said the colleges' use of subjective factors violated the constitutional right of Asian American applicants to equal protection of the law under the 14th Amendment.