Does ‘diversity’ really improve learning?

Joanne Jacobs:

The “largely untested proposition that diversity enhances education” will be the key to deciding whether Harvard’s race-conscious affirmative action program is constitutional, writes Adam Liptak in the New York Times.

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to consider a challenge by Students for Fair Admissions.

The court’s balance has shifted since it narrowly upheld the University of Texas’ affirmative action program in 2015, Liptak notes. In that case, some justices wondered about the evidence that diversity improves learning. “What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” asked Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked during oral arguments.

A new study finds law review articles at elite law schools were more likely to be cited in the five years after editors were chosen by race-conscious policies.