The Rise of the Testocracy: An Essay on the LSAT, Conventional Wisdom, and the Dismantling of Diversity

The author argues that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) relies too heavily upon a criterion-related definition of test bias - while at the same time failing to validate the fairness of that criterion. The article reviews decades of legal education research to show how the environment of law school can systematically disadvantage outsiders based on their gender, race, ethnicity, personality type, commitment to public interest work, and socioeconomic background - even when entering credentials (LSAT scores and UGPAs) are held constant. From this finding that most outsider groups tend to be overpredicted - that is, perform less well than others with equal credentials - the author argues that the behavioral domain of legal education is itself contaminated by bias.

Print Location William C. Kidder, The Rise of the Testocracy: An Essay on the LSAT, Conventional Wisdom, and the Dismantling of Diversity, 9 Tex. J. Women & L. 167 (2002).

Resources

Library

Academic Publication, Report, Other • Bias, Pipeline