The Reconstruction of Merit Post-Proposition 209

Abstract

This research addresses how Proposition 209 has altered access to University of California (UC), as represented by the changing profiles of admitted undergraduate students at three UC campuses. This research provides an analysis of changes that have occurred in undergraduate applicant and admit characteristics based on individual data from UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Riverside postaffirmative action. This study utilizes logistic regression to assess the likelihood of admission and employs temporal interactions across a consistent set of academic achievement and socioeconomic predictors. The quantitative findings illustrate admission based almost entirely on academic index, despite nominal changes and expansion of admissions criteria. Although the concepts of merit and equity remain loosely defined in public policy arenas, this research further examines the key admission factors that constitute merit in a post-209 environment and the implications of these altered standards for contributing to the social reconstruction of the concepts of equity and access.