JSPES, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 2011)
pp. 403-420

Tricks, Lies, Frauds and Misguided Good Intentions: Examining the Labyrinth of Affirmative Action/Diversity

Ralph S. Scott

University of Northern Iowa

Over the past six decades, affirmative action/diversity initiatives have imposed racial proportionality in virtually every domain of American life, from preschool programming to employment in American workplaces. This paper is essentially based around Steven Farron’s persuasive evidence that ethnic-based enterprises – typically endorsed uncritically by institutions which have seemingly lost their historic societal bearings – have proven not only nonhelpful, but counterproductive. Throughout, empirical evidence of Farron and other investigators focuses on two primary misconceptions underlying failure of programs which deemphasized color-blind equality: that standardized tests lack predictive validity and that efforts to implement racial proportionality can ignore the impact of biophysical and broad ecological forces.