Last week, the University of California announced that it would stop awarding scholarships for National Merit Scholars. The announcement, coming on the heals of decision several years ago to stop requiring the SAT, puts California at the forefront in the left's war against standardized testing, and as it seems, against any standards in college admission that would define a student's accomplishments independent of his race.
Each year thousands of high school juniors take the PSAT, and the highest scorers from each state are considered to be awarded "National Merit Finalist" status, for which some colleges offer scholarship money. The University of California spent about $735,000 last year, only a small fraction of total financial aid offered.
It's difficult to overstate the influence of the University of California system. Several years ago, criticism of the SAT prompted the College Board, the company which develops and markets the SAT, to completely redesign the test. At that time, the university President, Richard Atkinson, complained that the test was "perceived by many as unfair, and
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