Yes, this is all part and parcel of our national delusion that everyone should go to college.
If the same fraction of youths from all socioeconomic and racial backgrounds were "college material", it would be much easier politically to debunk the college-for-all delusion. That is not the case, however.
Standardized tests such as the SAT I (reasoning), SAT II (subject), ACT, and, A.P. can all help identify the youths who are "college material". The problem is that there is about a 1 standard deviation between whites and blacks on the SAT
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/2010-total-group-profile-report-cbs.pdf , similar to the 1 SD difference found on IQ tests. The difference is about 2/3 of an SD between whites and Hispanics. Research has found that standardized tests are not biased against non-Asian minorities in terms of predicting college grades. Discouraging youths will low test scores from going to college means discouraging a higher proportion of blacks and Hispanics than whites and Asians. Saying that very different fractions of various racial groups are "college material" is considered racist by many people, but I think it needs to be said. Then it should be acted upon but cutting off government aid for unqualified students.
A common rejoinder to the above argument is that achievement gaps reflect environmental differences, such as differences in school quality, but the differences are still large when students of different races going to the SAME school are compared or when adjustments for socioeconomic status are made. By the time students get to college, what matters is the existence of achievement gaps, not their origins.
