Last night, when I first read & commented on this article, I was exhausted. I apologize for writing an unnecessarily negative comment in post #16 above. Nevertheless, after rereading the article this morning, I still agree with my above comments. Although I would like to add that the article is written beautifully by one who writes well.
To me, the most interesting aspect of the article is the title “Elite Colleges Don’t Understand Which Business They’re In”. I think that elite colleges & universities, both public & private, understand very well which businesses that they are in. But it is important to recognize the distinction between public & private educational institutions as well as to recognize the various ways used to accomplish their respective goals.
Elite private colleges & universities are as much in the endowment building business as they are in the educating business.
Elite publics–all national research universities–are in the business of educating their residents while also attracting research dollars in furtherance of that mission.
The author fails to define “merit”, but does make a brief attempt to distinguish between “merit” and “talent”.
In part of this disjointed article, the author, a Yale law school professor, questions the inclusivity of elite schools in America. I wonder if this writer realizes that Harvard has only 40% white students and Yale 45% ?
With respect to educating the best based on merit and morals, the author offers no real insights or solutions. If the English or Chinese systems are better because they are based on academic knowledge of a subject area & on testing, then why aren’t students from around the world targeting British & Chinese universities to the same extent that they do American universities ? Perhaps it is simply a supply & demand argument, or perhaps because the world realizes the tremendous value and opportunities offered by an education at an elite American college or university.
Elite colleges and universities in the US are in a complex business that cannot be accomplished simply by purely numerical entrance standards such as standardized test scores & high GPAs.
I wish that this article had offered more insight, analysis & proposed solutions to the posed non-existent problem.