Effects of Affirmative Action after 10 Years in Brazil
2023-07-30
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1Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race cannot be the reason for colleges to accept students.
2The high court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not permit such decisions based on race.
3The policy that many colleges used to increase the percentage of minorities they admitted was called affirmative action.
4They said the policy helped make their groups of students more diverse and improved the ability of minority groups to get higher education.
5Those opposed to affirmative action said the policy prevented some qualified students from getting into selective universities.
6Colleges in much of the U.S. were permitted to partly consider a student's race in their admissions decisions for over 50 years.
7As a result of the high court's decision in June, most colleges and most universities must now consider factors other than race.
8In Brazil, a version of affirmative action has been a part of admissions since 2012.
9The country has a law that permits both racial and economic quotas for its federal or public universities.
10Three researchers wrote about the effects of affirmative action in Brazil for the Journal of Economic Surveys.
11They condensed their findings in a piece for The Conversation, an online publication.
12Neil Lewis Jr. of Cornell University in New York state, Inacio Bo of the University of Macau and Rodrigo Zeidan of New York University's Shanghai campus worked on the article.
13They explained the background of affirmative action in Brazil and the kinds of students the policy affects.
14They say the policy "has proved to be quite beneficial."
15The quotas became law in August 2012.
16At the time, many people worried that Brazilian students, who were already attending college, would suffer.
17They argued that professors would have to lower the level of their teaching in order to connect with a larger number of Black and indigenous students from poor areas.
18They said wealthy students with a good early education would leave for private universities.
19In some cases, the writers noted, wealthy students did go to other universities.
20Others said Black high school students in Brazil would not work as hard because they knew the universities were holding places for them.
21A study showed that this was true for students who were already achieving.
22However, the writers said students in a lower group worked harder because they knew they could continue with their studies.
23Overall, they said, the quotas permitted a larger group of minority students to continue their education.
24Only one of Brazil's 81 senators voted against the law.
25In a story published in 2012, the New York Times quoted Brazil's current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as saying the policy would help some racial groups "make up for lost time."
26Lula had been president from 2003 to 2010.
27The researchers talked about what they considered the difference between Brazil's quota system and the affirmative action policy in the United States.
28In Brazil, at least half of the places at federal universities are held for students who are either poor or from racial minority groups.
29In the U.S., quotas have been unlawful for more than 40 years.
30But universities could use data about race and wealth to decide the best combination of students.
31In Brazil, most students, including those from wealthy families, hope to go to federal universities.
32The schools are both high-quality and cost-free.
33One concern about the federal universities, however, is that openings are limited.
34Some people will not get in and will have to find other schools for higher education.
35The writers said, for those who do attend the federal universities, the last 10 years of quotas have had good results.
36The researchers said students admitted because of the quotas performed well.
37If they lacked learning compared to wealthier students, they learned the necessary skills by graduation.
38In addition, some quota students got better grades than the traditional students.
39The researchers said not all students from wealthy parts of Brazil with good high schools were guaranteed to do well in their university studies.
40When the affirmative action plan came out in Brazil, da Silva said it was hard to find Black doctors, dentists and bank supervisors.
41But Lewis, Zeidan and Bo said the students admitted because of affirmative action were seven percent more likely to have those jobs because of the policy.
42Many students, they said, would not have moved on to higher education if they did not have places set aside at the universities.
43The writers said the quota system helped diversify students in federal universities.
44Before 2012, it was difficult for Brazilian universities to make sure poor and minority students could receive higher education.
45Some universities developed policies to bring in more students from poor areas.
46However, that did not always make a clear difference in the race of students attending the college.
47The writers of the piece worried that a similar plan by American colleges and universities would not work as well as affirmative action.
48They advised university leaders that race-based polices work better than other systems.
49"University leaders," they wrote, "must find...new ways to make their campuses more diverse.
50How to achieve that may be a challenge, but it seems to remain a worthwhile pursuit."
51In their article, the writers said other nations should be able to enact policies similar to the ones in Brazil without worrying that students will be deeply hurt.
52The one group they said they are concerned about is the group of wealthier students who lost their places at the federal universities because of quotas.
53Those students face the high cost of attending private universities.
54I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race cannot be the reason for colleges to accept students. 2The high court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not permit such decisions based on race. 3The policy that many colleges used to increase the percentage of minorities they admitted was called affirmative action. They said the policy helped make their groups of students more diverse and improved the ability of minority groups to get higher education. 4Those opposed to affirmative action said the policy prevented some qualified students from getting into selective universities. 5Colleges in much of the U.S. were permitted to partly consider a student's race in their admissions decisions for over 50 years. 6As a result of the high court's decision in June, most colleges and most universities must now consider factors other than race. 7Quotas in Brazil 8In Brazil, a version of affirmative action has been a part of admissions since 2012. The country has a law that permits both racial and economic quotas for its federal or public universities. 9Three researchers wrote about the effects of affirmative action in Brazil for the Journal of Economic Surveys. They condensed their findings in a piece for The Conversation, an online publication. 10Neil Lewis Jr. of Cornell University in New York state, Inacio Bo of the University of Macau and Rodrigo Zeidan of New York University's Shanghai campus worked on the article. 11They explained the background of affirmative action in Brazil and the kinds of students the policy affects. They say the policy "has proved to be quite beneficial." 12Concerns about quotas 13The quotas became law in August 2012. At the time, many people worried that Brazilian students, who were already attending college, would suffer. They argued that professors would have to lower the level of their teaching in order to connect with a larger number of Black and indigenous students from poor areas. They said wealthy students with a good early education would leave for private universities. In some cases, the writers noted, wealthy students did go to other universities. 14Others said Black high school students in Brazil would not work as hard because they knew the universities were holding places for them. A study showed that this was true for students who were already achieving. However, the writers said students in a lower group worked harder because they knew they could continue with their studies. Overall, they said, the quotas permitted a larger group of minority students to continue their education. 15Only one of Brazil's 81 senators voted against the law. In a story published in 2012, the New York Times quoted Brazil's current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as saying the policy would help some racial groups "make up for lost time." Lula had been president from 2003 to 2010. 16The researchers talked about what they considered the difference between Brazil's quota system and the affirmative action policy in the United States. 17In Brazil, at least half of the places at federal universities are held for students who are either poor or from racial minority groups. In the U.S., quotas have been unlawful for more than 40 years. But universities could use data about race and wealth to decide the best combination of students. 18In Brazil, most students, including those from wealthy families, hope to go to federal universities. The schools are both high-quality and cost-free. One concern about the federal universities, however, is that openings are limited. Some people will not get in and will have to find other schools for higher education. 19Benefits in Brazil 20The writers said, for those who do attend the federal universities, the last 10 years of quotas have had good results. 21The researchers said students admitted because of the quotas performed well. If they lacked learning compared to wealthier students, they learned the necessary skills by graduation. 22In addition, some quota students got better grades than the traditional students. The researchers said not all students from wealthy parts of Brazil with good high schools were guaranteed to do well in their university studies. 23When the affirmative action plan came out in Brazil, da Silva said it was hard to find Black doctors, dentists and bank supervisors. But Lewis, Zeidan and Bo said the students admitted because of affirmative action were seven percent more likely to have those jobs because of the policy. Many students, they said, would not have moved on to higher education if they did not have places set aside at the universities. 24What does it mean for the U.S.? 25The writers said the quota system helped diversify students in federal universities. Before 2012, it was difficult for Brazilian universities to make sure poor and minority students could receive higher education. Some universities developed policies to bring in more students from poor areas. However, that did not always make a clear difference in the race of students attending the college. 26The writers of the piece worried that a similar plan by American colleges and universities would not work as well as affirmative action. They advised university leaders that race-based polices work better than other systems. 27"University leaders," they wrote, "must find...new ways to make their campuses more diverse. How to achieve that may be a challenge, but it seems to remain a worthwhile pursuit." 28In their article, the writers said other nations should be able to enact policies similar to the ones in Brazil without worrying that students will be deeply hurt. The one group they said they are concerned about is the group of wealthier students who lost their places at the federal universities because of quotas. Those students face the high cost of attending private universities. 29I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Dan Friedell. 30Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on an article first published by The Conversation. 31____________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33diverse -adj. made up of people different from each other 34selective -adj. choosing only top-level candidates 35factor -n. something that helps people make a decision or a choice 36quota -n. a limit, number, percentage or ratio of people who are permitted 37condensed -adj. made shorter by removing parts that are less important 38campus -n. the grounds surrounding an institution, especially a college or university 39challenge -n. a difficult thing to do 40pursuit -n. an effort directed at gaining, finding or completing something 41___________________________________________________ 42We want to hear from you. Do you think affirmative action quotas will continue to work in Brazil? 43Here is how our comment system works: 44Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.