Minority Talent Loss and the Texas Top 10 Percent Law

Objective. This article examines how knowledge about the Texas top 10 percent law influences college enrollment decisions of high achieving minority and non-minority students. Methods. Using a representative survey of graduates from Texas public high schools in 2002, we compare self-reported and transcript-verified class rank and estimate probit models to assess the likelihood that top-ranked minority students know about the law. Results. Family socioeconomic status largely explains why highly ranked black and Hispanic students know less about the top 10 percent law than comparable whites, but parents' lack of fluency in English is a significant information barrier for college-bound, top 10 percent Hispanic students from predominantly minority high schools. Nearly one-fifth of college-oriented black and Hispanic top 10 percent seniors who did not know about the law failed to enroll anywhere. Conclusion. Inadequate information about the top 10 percent law undermines enrollment of talented minorities in higher education.