On June 29, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) made the decision to stop allowing college admissions across the nation to use Affirmative Action. Since 1978, the Supreme Court has upheld the use of affirmative action as one factor for admissions until today even though colleges throughout time have proven time and time again that the use of holistic admissions has many factors not just one. On this day, it is important that we all understand that research and data have shown time and time again that diversity (race, experience, background, and ideas) benefits not one, but ALL.

We need to continue to move onward and upward TOGETHER despite the decision. As colleges must follow the law like how the UC's and Cal States did when CA voters voted to ban affirmative action in our public system -- it is imperative for all of us to remind students to still honor the stories of students who have illustrated their passions despite it all, demonstrate their strengths despite it all and rise above despite it all.

WE MUST! So everyone can get a fair shot and rise above so we as a nation can rise.

Bob Schaeffer, a long-time warrior and advocate for equity took some time to discuss college admissions, testing, affirmative action, and more. He shared his wisdom with us on the ongoing changes in college admissions in this interview.

Bob has served as Public Education Director of FairTest, since its founding in 1985, and is a member of its Board of Directors. Previously, he was Editorial Writer at the NBC-TV affiliate in Boston, Research Director of the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Human Services and Elderly Affairs, and worked for several years as a research associate at the Education Research Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is author of Standardized Tests and Teacher Competence (School Voices, Fall, 1996) and coauthor of Standing Up to the SAT (ARCO/Simon & Schuster, 1989). He has also coauthored many FairTest publications, includingTesting Our Children: A Report Card on State Assessment Systems, Standardized Tests and Our Children: A Guide to Testing Reform, Implementing Performance Assessments, The SAT Coaching Cover-Up, Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit, and Sex Bias in College Admissions Tests: How Women Lose Out.