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My main problem with the Top 10% program: top 10% at some schools would not equal Top 10% at others, even in the same district and even in the same small district. If UGa started this program, it would be disastrous for this very reason. I'm thinking of a district I taught in in which the top 10% of 1 school could easily get into UGa and blow away the classes. Actually, the top quarter probably could. Then there's a rural high school a few miles away that rarely even gets any students into UGa and it'd be doubtful if they'd succeed there anyway. I've taught at both schools.
But I can picture a lot of that rural school's top 10% enrolling because yee-ha, they could slap a UGa sticker on their ole truck bumpers and wouldn't that be great to show the guys? And then they'd flunk out in 1-2 semesters because they found the best pit to go mudding in near Athens--and they would've taken the place of a very qualified student from the other high school who would've aced the classes at Georgia. I'm not generalizing here, I could show this to teachers from that district and get a sad nod of affirmation.
The student from the stronger school could certainly transfer in later but it's really not the same. He or she would be merely marking time at the smaller school, possibly not even getting involved, until the minute they could be in Athens and who knows when that would be?
I can appreciate Texas desperately tying to achieve diversity. They can't win. On the other hand, has anyone ever seen statistics on how many kids from the "weaker" schools don't make it through the first year? I'd like to.
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