AFFIRMATIVE ACTION & THE PROBLEM OF “MISMATCH”:  Excellent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor about the problems caused by academic “mismatch” that results from race-based affirmative action in university admissions. The bottom line according to Sander and Taylor (both of whom confess to formerly supporting affirmative action):

There is now increasing evidence that students who receive large preferences of any kind—whether based on race, athletic ability, alumni connections or other considerations—experience some clear negative effects: Students end up with poor grades (usually in the bottom fifth of their class), lower graduation rates, extremely high attrition rates from science and engineering majors, substantial self-segregation on campus, lower self-esteem and far greater difficulty passing licensing tests (such as bar exams for lawyers).