Trump takes Step towards Meritocracy

Heather Mac Donald writes:

Trump Takes His Biggest Step Yet Toward Restoring Meritocracy

The administration’s executive order eliminating disparate-impact theory restores the 1964 Civil Rights Act to its original meaning.

Measured in Trump time, it took them eons to get around to it, but the White House has finally taken the most important step it can to restore meritocracy to American society: eliminating disparate-impact theory from civil rights analysis and enforcement.

Disparate-impact theory holds that if a neutral, colorblind standard of achievement or behavior has a disproportionately negative effect on underrepresented minorities (overwhelmingly, on blacks), it violates civil rights laws. It has been used to invalidate literacy and numeracy standards for police officers and firemen, cognitive skills and basic knowledge tests for teachers, the use of SATs in college admissions, the use of grades for medical licensing exams, credit-based mortgage lending, the ability to discipline insubordinate students, and criminal background checks for employees and renters.

Update: She explains herself on a long podcast.