Linguistic and Cultural Diversity: A Growing Challenge to American Higher Education

Three trends combine to present a growing challenge to American higher education: (1) a rapid growth in culturally diverse populations within American society; (2) a substantial increase in the number of culturally diverse students seeking admission to higher education; and (3) a wide gap between culturally diverse students and European American students in their performance on admission test such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). In order to respond appropriately to this challenge, the College Board will need to consider a broad range of policy options, some of which are presented in the three sections of this document. The first section focuses on preparatory programs for higher education. The second section focuses on developing appropriate testing and assessment for culturally diverse students. The third section lays out a research agenda that supplements the development of testing and assessment. Working with the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement, the College Board is in a position to develop strategic alliances with organizations such as CRESST. Through strong leadership, the College Board can help an increasing number of culturally diverse students not only to gain admission to institutions of higher education but also, once admitted, to perform successfully. (This report was published in 2001 by College Entrance Examination Board and is reproduced here as No. 556 in the CSE Technical Report series.)