‘Race-based affirmative action has failed.’ Discuss. [45]

1. After Affirmative action programs were outlawed in Texas 1995 the university of Texas law school Latino student enrollment has been cut in half.

2. Comparison study between 1900-2000 school year and 2009-10 school year and although 36% more whites received their masters while black and Hispanic rates of graduation doubled.

2.1. Blacks went from barely 1% of law students in 1960 and 2.2% of medical students in 1964 to 7.5% and 8.1% by 1995.

2.2. A 1998 study conducted by William Bowen and Derek Bok (former presidents of Princeton and Harvard) found that in 1960, 5.4% of blacks between the ages of 25 and 29 had graduated from college; by 1995 that share had jumped to 15.4%

2.3. The proportion of Asian-Americans at Harvard rose from around 5% in the early 1980s to more than 20% by 1993

3. Education equality has increased.Since the late 1980's , students of colour have increased their total college enrollment by 57.2%

3.1. However on the other hand, it is more likely to favour those who don't need it. Elite college fulfill goals for black enrollment with children of well-educated African and Afro-Carribbean immigrants rather than descendants of American slaves.

3.2. African immigrants had a higher level of education attainment than any other immigrant group, with 41% having a bachelors degree or higher in 2008-2012 (white 30%)

4. There is still economic inequality between white people and minorities e.g. the Unemployment June 2014. 5.3% whites and 10.7% Blacks, the black unemployment rate remains the highest. This has not improved , since 1972 there has consistently been an average of 5% difference between the unemployment rates of black and white people, with black unemployment 10% in 1972 and whites 5% .

5. Other alternative programmes have worked better.For example Texas's 10% plan. In 1966 , after federal court of appeals banned consideration of race in admissions, the university replaced it with a ''ten percent plan''. Because Texas African Americans attend predominantly black schools in low income neighborhoods the plan generated a 2003 freshman class that was 4.5% black, an improvement from when affirmative action was used.

5.1. However on the other hand , even the Texas 10 percent plan favours white students over minorities. A study conducted showed while 43% of white people were eligible , only 18% of black students were.