Posner on affirmative action:

My view is that reference to "merit" and "meritocracy" is misleading. A person is not "better" because he's a better exam-taker; for that matter, he's not "better," more "meritorious," because he has a higher IQ than someone else. The issue regarding standardized testing is whether it's a good predictor of college or graduate school performance. ...

There is a special factor at work in law, the profession with which I'm most familiar, that casts particular doubt on the wisdom of racial affirmative action. That is the fact that to become a practicing lawyer, you have to pass the bar exam--another standardized timed test but one for which you can't substitute a take-home exam or a term paper. The black pass rate on the bar exam is shockingly low--something like 15 per cent, compared to more than 60 per cent for nonblack exam takers. I cannot see the sense of bending law school admissions standards in favor of applicants who are unlikely to be able to enter the profession after spending $100 000 or more for three years of law school tuition.

Originally by posner at The Becker-Posner Blog, 11:19 PM

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