Race and Class Color the advice given
A new study suggests that race and class have an impact on the advice high school students receive on where to go to college. A Drexel University professor analyzed the responses of more than 1,700 guidance counselors to student profiles with information about academic performance, race, class and other factors. The professor, Frank Linnehan, found that — irrespective of academic performance — counselors were more likely to recommend community colleges to middle-class students than to upper-class students. Another finding: For middle-class students with lower academic performance, the guidance counselors were more likely to recommend that black students attend community college than they recommended that approach to comparable white students. The reverse was true for wealthier students, where white students were more likely to be urged to attend community colleges. The study will be presented in August at the National Academy of Management meeting.