The Academic Preparation and Achievement of Black and White Collegiate Athletes
- 1 March 1986
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Sport and Social Issues
- Vol. 10 (1) , 15-29
- https://doi.org/10.1177/019372358601000103
Abstract
Data on all varsity athletes at a major university over a ten-year period were examined to assess the differences, if any, between whites and blacks in precollege academic preparation and college achievement. White athletes scored higher than their black peers on every measure of academic potential—ACT, SAT, high school rank, and high school grade point average. These differences in preparation translate into greater academic success in college for whites, both in better grades and a higher graduation rate. These findings confirm that schools with big-time sports programs tend to recruit black athletes who are academically marginal, thus a high rate of academic failure for them. The implications of this form of racial exploitation are elaborated.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
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- Differences in the Recruitment of Black and White Football Players At a Big Eight UniversityJournal of Sport and Social Issues, 1979
- How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic AchievementHarvard Educational Review, 1969