The Merit Myth: How Our Colleges Favor the Rich and Divide America

by Anthony P. Carnevale, Peter Schmidt, Jeff Strohl

An eye-opening and timely look at how colleges drive the very inequalities they are meant to remedy, complete with a call—and a vision—for change

Colleges fiercely defend America’s deeply stratified higher education system, arguing that the most exclusive schools reward the brightest kids who have worked hard to get there. But it doesn’t actually work this way. As the recent college-admissions bribery scandal demonstrates, social inequalities and colleges’ pursuit of wealth and prestige stack the deck in favor of the children of privilege. For education scholar and critic Anthony P. Carnevale, it’s clear that colleges are not the places of aspiration and equal opportunity they claim to be.

The Merit Myth calls out our elite colleges for what they are: institutions that pay lip service to social mobility and meritocracy, while offering little of either. Through policies that exacerbate inequality, including generously funding so-called merit-based aid for already-wealthy students rather than expanding opportunity for those who need it most, U.S. universities—the presumed pathway to a better financial future—are woefully complicit in reproducing the racial and class privilege across generations that they pretend to abhor.

This timely and incisive book argues for unrigging the game by dramatically reducing the weight of the SAT/ACT; measuring colleges by their outcomes, not their inputs; designing affirmative action plans that take into consideration both race and class; and making 14 the new 12—guaranteeing every American a public K–14 education. The Merit Myth shows the way for higher education to become the beacon of opportunity it was intended to be.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Politics, Sociology, Class

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 2020

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars
Don't let my star rating fool you: I really did enjoy this book. I learned so much from it and this has introduced me more thoroughly to a topic I would love to explore even more. I thought it was incredibly well-researched, and the authors conveyed very complex concepts in a passionate and coherent way.
Some of my main issues were honestly personal. I tend to prefer a more narrative nonfiction style, with anecdotes and first-hand interviews. I don't think every nonfiction book has to have that in order to be good, but unfortunately this book's lack of that made it quite a drag to get through at times. It can become a little overwhelming reading statistic after statistic, study after study, with very little else to break it up.
Beyond that, it did feel like this book was longer than it needed to be. It has eight fairly long chapters, each covering a different topic. However, there was a ton of overlap between the different chapters and I began to notice statistics or examples being repeated over and over again. It was hard to get through the end of the book when I felt like it was consistently demonstrating that it didn't have anything new to say.
I appreciated that on top of just laying out the problems, there was also a chapter dedicated to solutions. They felt realistic and it was a really good note to end on. It also never really felt particularly partisan, and acknowledge problems with actions within both political parties.
Overall, I think anyone who reads this book would learn something. I will definitely be thinking about the things that I read in this book for a long time. As I read more about this subject, I don't know if this book will hold up as the best one I read regarding it, but it was a solid introduction.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book perfectly lays out how not every American gets a fair chance at a college education. Those with money can buy their child's way into whatever school that they want, as there are so many different avenues they can take to accomplish this. This didn't have a lot of shocking information, but it was a really informative read.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touches on many of the topics I’m most interested in, and puts together the strongest possible case for reforming higher education’s racist and classist admissions policies, funding, and reliance on testing practices. While the authors propose solutions at the end, they would take a serious level of work over an extended period of time, making it unlikely to help students for many years.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent view of the landscape of challenges facing higher education with a lot of suggestions for how to approach them. All of them daunting. But I have a much better understanding of the complexities.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad, bad Colleges! They should favor only the ones chosen by the Ayatollah liked by the three paper pushers. And their nieces and nephews, because they are very smart kids, it's genetic.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through the GoodReads First Reads program.

"The Merit Myth" talks about the history of the post-secondary education system in the US, and how that history impacts the current environment within that system. It covers some of the racist and classist policies that existed previously and how those outcomes of such policies are still common even if the policies themselves have been eliminated.

While I had been aware of issues that were bought up in this book from other exposure - articles and lectures that have talked about different aspects - it was good to see it brought together in one comprehensive book. I was mildly appalled to see a quote from the president of the university where I work noting that he has been on phone calls where other administrators overtly remark on the fact that there can be no emails about some of these conversations they have so that there can be no written documentation of preferential treatment given to certain sets of people, but I suppose I can be glad that he was honest and didn't make that comment on the condition of anonymity.

I do wish the ending, which offers solutions to the system, didn't feel so hopeless, but I suppose that is unavoidable when the issue is a system and you as the reader are a single person.

A final note that this was a tough read for me in a time when I was coming to terms with the fact that I cannot provide for my own children the educational grounding I myself had. I wish I could write a longer review of this book but it was a struggle to get through because I know my kids will not have the same educational opportunities I had, and there just isn't much I can do about it.

[Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid. A good, one-stop shop for what's systemically wrong with the way places are apportioned at American colleges. Particular strengths include a thorough examination of the history of how race has continued to be a factor in selectivity in all the wrong ways. The text essentially anticipates the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down the use of race at all in admissions, but what is especially chilling is to read how that move is the culmination of decades of efforts to overturn Brown v. Education. By focusing on privilege (a term not often enough deployed in the text), the book shows how minimal efforts by elite universities to admit students of color in fact tend to reinforce privilege. Also salutary was the frequent admonition that more money ought to pointed at the mid- and lower-tier universities that actually have the best chance of being engines of change. There isn't much by way of real solutions for how to make that happen. Even states like California, with its three-tiered system, aren't about to start pouring the majority of their funds into community colleges. Could also have done with a good deal more conversation about the emphasis on vocational training in the culture, which emphasis is warping what makes colleges so useful for a democratic citizenry in the first place. (Not knocking teaching kids how to work in fields—am knocking the idea that that is ALL a college should be doing.) The notes and bibliography are particularly helpful.

[Ron Scheese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opener

This is a well researched and documented expose on the elite colleges admissions and business model and is rather eye opening.  Education propelled my career, I am a lifelong learner.  I continue to serve my alma mater because I am a product the upward socioeconomic mobility higher education offers and I believe we can still make a positive impact in our world today. 

I belive education offers the best shot at the American Dream.  Yet I've learned "The obsession with rankings and prestige has rendered Americans far too focused on the inputs of higher-education institutions, such as the academic profiles of entering classes and how much colleges pay faculty members or spend per student. Colleges can easily inflate supposed measures of their quality simply by catering to the wealthy and becoming more exclusive."  The result is that "Every year at least 500,000 American students graduate in the top half of their high school class without ever going on to earn a postsecondary credential."  As such, "Most of the historic rise in economic inequality since the early 1980s can be traced to differences in access to postsecondary programs with labor-market value."

The authors suggest ways our education system can be improved to serve and benefit society more effectively than it currently does.  

I give it 5 stars for its informative prowess

[Kia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 6-7 chapters were great analyses of a lot of interesting data that confirmed and elaborated on my general knowledge of the inequities in higher education. The 8th chapter, which was on solutions to the problems, took a hard turn. It was full of extremely vague solutions that did not seem to get at the heart of the issue and would only recreate the elitist “meritocracy” in another generation or two. The author hints at this in the first half of the book, but ultimately, if there is only a small number of spots at the nation’s most selective universities, and more “non-elite” (working class and minority individuals) take those spots, then some wealthy elite students will lose out. Wealthy parents and families will never let this happen. There will be new ways to game the system-none of his solutions address the fundamental inequities that lead rich students to have stronger resumes in the first place. I was unimpressed with the solutions he suggested, especially as he refuses to look to other countries for solutions (he disparages the European system, but doesn’t really give a reason why other than that it’s “centralized.”

[Paul Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is marginally good. One of its shortcomings is it doesn't define what a selective college is. At one point he refers to the top 200 selective colleges. Are there really 200 selective colleges? What acceptance rate makes a college selective.

The authors make good points about the need for greater economic representation at colleges. Too many colleges are created for wealthy/upper middle class students. (i.e. the authors notes that 25% of Vanderbilt students hail from the top 1% of income earners).

The points the authors make about selective schools may lead the reader to become skeptical about the admissions system. But he offers some tangible and realistic suggestions on how the US' overall post-secondary system can be improved/transformed.

One of the books weaknesses is that the authors are Georgetown University employees and may have blinders. A student doesn't need to go to Prestige U to have a successful career.

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although they make me furious, I love reading books on how meritocracy is a myth. This book focuses specifically on college, and it’s one of the best I’ve read. I’ve read a few books that touch on this topic, but these authors introduced me to a lot of new data that I was unaware of. This book will help you understand how if you’re not born into the right family, equality of opportunity is non-existent in the United States. You’ll learn how from birth to college, upper class and wealthy kids are always going to take priority getting spots in colleges until something changes in this country. The authors offer some great solutions to this issue as well.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking book highlighting how inequity in college admissions and funding obstructs social mobility and how the pursuit of prestige can detract from both educational quality and access. The book could have benefited from another round of edits, however, and I think a discussion of faculty hiring  practices in academia would have enhanced points about budget priorities and prestige vs. instructional quality. I like that they include specific policy and practices to change, rather than just defining the problem.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good continuation of Lani Guinier’s book. It is aimed directly at those making decisions for post secondary education and how the wealthy have avoided the argument that merit is the best metric for college admission. It also argues that instead of measuring input, output is more likely to level the field and improve access. It incorporates the “Varsity Blues” scandal which I believe will fade from consciousness of everyone in the US but shouldn’t.

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for a very well researched, very convincing book.

Knocking a star off because I don't feel like I learned anything new... Yes it's great to have the data to prove it, but we already KNEW that selective colleges and universities primarily benefit rich, white people.

Actually, I lied. I learned one thing new. It's CRAZY to me that a lot of the admissions process at selective colleges was designed to specifically weed out Jewish people...!

[David R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more detailed critique of “merit” in higher education than found elsewhere. Hints at the absolute fact that student aid administration has become hostage to the dominance of “merit” policies in higher ed at the expense of need-based policies. Could have/should have gone stronger to it. A critical read for higher education policy.

[Victor Bloomfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes important points about the questionable practices of "selective" colleges, and their cascading impact on inequality in American society. But it is repetitive and too long for its message. A magazine article would have been a more suitable place to publish.

[Jillian C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read that provides solid facts and findings surrounding the myth of meritocracy in our higher education system. If you watched the Operation Varsity Blues documentary Netflix and were intrigued, you should read this!

[Bowman Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and important read about the role our education systems play in widening racial and socioeconomic gaps. Can be a bit dry at some points, but the language is clear and accessible throughout.

[Makeila Ha · Rating 2 out of 5]

As informative and important as this book is when it comes to the issue of college acceptance and equity in education it was a total slog. I had to force myself to finish it by telling myself I could read two chapters of a fiction book for every chapter of this book I finished.

[Susan Csoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

How colleges are perceived is not actually how they operate. How this system is failing our nation. Thankyou Goodreads for this free book.

[Reanin Mcroberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really admire Carnevale's work so I had to read this. Comprehensive and thoughtful.

[Matt Kolbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book about the precipice on which education finds itself, and the dire consequences if we don't make judicious changes.

[Eric Durant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virtually nothing new for anyone who reads about this topic. But, a good overview and discussion for those new to the topic.

[Brittany Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presented a strong argument against the current higher education system and the inequities that it presents.