I agree - all I'm saying is that claiming the old system doesn't favor people by race (in the way you're meaning, where it tilts the scales in particular direct

I agree - all I'm saying is that claiming the old system doesn't favor people by race (in the way you're meaning, where it tilts the scales in particular direction) isn't trivially demonstrable. Higher Ed has been struggling with this for awhile. It's not clear that a major emphasis on test scores isn't just putting a quantitative spackle on a biased system, and then declaring the job done. Especially in a system with such a complicated background as public schooling.