Balance (1965 - 1990)
1960's
The enrollment of minorities in higher education institutions became a hotly debated issue in admissions and higher education circles after 1965. African-Americans historically had lower college attendance rates when compared to white students. In 1964, the gap between white and black students, ages 18-24, enrolled in college was 14%.
After 1964, affirmative action programs and admissions yielded increased enrollment of African-Americans and other minority students, especially at selective and highly selective institutions. However, for lower-income 18-24 year olds, the gap in participation in higher education is the same in 1999 as it was in 1970.
This gap in academic achievement and higher education participation is related to 5 factors: economic circumstances, level of parents' education, prejudice and discrimination, home, community, and school culture, and the availability of school resources.
The existence of the achievement and college participation gap did not escape the College Board. As early as 1959, the College Board paid special attention to the admission of minorities to higher education institutions at its Colloquium on College Admissions. This colloquium resulted in the publication The Search for Talent, the Board's first major publication related to equity issues.
Beginning in the 1960's and as part of the College Board's emphasis on expanding access to higher education to minority and low-income students, the Board initiated a number of projects aimed at extending educational opportunity.
While the College Board pursued projects and initiatives addressing issues of minority access to higher education, the Board also examined its own institutional practices. After 1959, there was a concerted effort to increase minority representation on College Board councils and its staff. And in 1966, the Board banned segregated institutions from its membership.
