Mandy Suhr

Staff Writer

The impact of the Texas 10 percent law is being felt throughout the state, and discussion is ensuing over whether this law is producing positive or negative changes in the Texas university system. The 10 percent law, which was put into place in 1998, says that students in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class are automatically admitted to the Texas public university of their choice. Much media attention was given to the law in its beginnings, and now the press and the public are questioning the effects of the law on Texas' campuses.

The 10 percent law was enacted in response to the federals appeals court Hopwood decision that struck down affirmative action in the state in 1996. Indeed, the law has recovered numbers of Hispanics and Asians, who saw decreases in numbers after the Hopwood decision. The new law, however, has not helped black student enrollment, and there are some effects that are causing some to criticize the law.

Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard, said that a combination of factors including recruitment, financial aid, and academic support are necessary for minority enrollment to excel. Mr. Orfeild said, ``If you have a percent plan without those, you don't have too much.''

One result of the 10 percent law, which came as a surprise to many, was its contribution to the tendency of placing less emphasis on standardized test scores, like the SAT. Schools across the nation have considered dropping the SAT due to concerns that the test does not represent high school curriculum and that it has a bias toward middle and upper income families. The SAT scores of those admitted to Texas universities have decreased since the 10 percent law was put into effect, as the test is irrelevant to those who automatically qualify due to being in the top 10 percent of their class.

Critics of the 10 percent law say that it allows for the admission of students who are not prepared to do college level work. Administrators from The University of Texas have responded to this critique by explaining how most of the 10 percenters get better grades than other students at the campus, even than the students who scored higher on the SAT. The university has, however, seen a decline in grade point averages for its tough programs (including business and the sciences) since the law has been in effect, and the schools are needing to add academic services to aid students. George Scott, a Houston researcher on education said, ``The state of Texas has defined that those who have achieved top 10 percent status have some coequal academic preparation, and that is absolutely 100 percent a lie.'' Hopefully this issue will be somewhat resolved, because the state passed a bill recently that will require all students to have taken a college-prep course of study in order to qualify for the top 10 percent admission.

Another fear of critics of the law is that good students are not able to go to the school of their choice because of the law. The law does not, for example, differentiate between a school with poor academic performance and a school with rigorous academic competition. The university's officials have responded by stating that it is a misunderstanding to think that not being in the top 10 percent automatically disqualifies someone from getting into the schools. A little over half of the incoming freshmen are 10 percenters, which the school deems a ``modest'' 7 percent increase since the Hopwood decision. But, with a much larger pool of applicants, the school cannot ignore the negative effects that the new law is having for some students. The law has also exposed the imbalance in the university system, as University of Texas in Austin and Texas A&M are proving much more popular than other campuses, such as Houston and Dallas. Still, Bill Lawson, a counselor for the universities said, ``I refer to it as the top 10 percent mythology. This notion that you've got to be in the top 10 to go to A&M or U.T. is a myth.'' This is no myth, however, for students coming from competitive schools who are not getting into the universities of their choice, and if they do, many cannot get into the specific schools of their choice. For example, the University of Texas' business and communications schools have had to limit their slots to give others an opportunity because of the large influx of 10 percenters.

The 10 percent law has also caused students in schools that have 4.0 A scales that have 5.0 advance classes to stack AP courses at the beginning of their time in high school to get up on the percentage scale, even a fraction, so as to be in the 10 percent. Some see this competition as a good thing, while others think the 10 percent law is an unbalanced approach. Magnet/neighborhood high schools are also having problems, and some have even considered splitting into two schools to give everyone more opportunities.

Discourse surrounding the 10 percent law is bound to continue as students and parents either praise the law for the opportunity it has given them or criticize it for its harmful effects on their future educations and careers. In the meantime, University of Texas President Larry R. Faulkner said, ``There is not any mechanism of rationing admissions to the university that is going to be perfectly fair in anybody's eyes. There is none.'' Still, debate will go on over whether the 10 percent law is unfair in enough eyes to drop or at least modify it in the coming years.