- Fall 2004 -

Reliance on Standardized Scores Hurts Minority Applicants

The Institute of Medicine's Committee on Institutional and Policy-Level Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Health Care Workforce recently developed a new report, "In the Nation's Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health Care Workforce," which recommends actions training programs and accreditation bodies should take to make it easier for minority students to pursue health careers.

According to Lonnie R. Bristow, MD, chair of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Institutional and Policy-Level Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Health Care Workforce: "Many health professions educational institutions employ admission policies that threaten both the diversity and quality of admitted students. Many schools, for example, rely heavily on applicants' standardized test scores in identifying those who will receive serious consideration for admission. Standardized test scores are generally good predictors of subsequent academic performance, but have in some cases been used inappropriately as a barometer of applicants' academic Ômerit,' often to the detriment of underrepresented minority students."

The report is available at: http://books. nap.edu/catalog/10885.html.