"Less than half a percent of Asian American and African American high-achievers choose education majors."

This grim quote is taken from a December 2004 report by the Educational Testing Service that examines SAT data to better understand the career choices of high-achieving minorities. The report looks at student achievement (SAT score) disaggregated by a number of different categories. However, the bottom-line finding is a confirmation of what economists like Caroline Hoxby and others (TQB February 29, 2004) have noted before: "Choices of college major seemed more related to academic background than to racial/ethnic groups." In other words, middle and low achieving minorities are far more likely to choose education as a major than the high academic achievers.