The Language of Law School This page intentionally left blank

participation rate by that of students of color. 1.0 is the
figure that would represent equal participation by
students regardless of race. Figures over 1.0 represent an
imbalance toward white students’ participation; figures
under 1.0 represent an imbalance toward participation by
students of color.
Participation rates are basically the average number
of turns per student. The participation rate for students
of color, for example, is the number of turns taken by
students of color divided by the number of students of
color enrolled in the course. When average participation
rates are equal—that is, when the average participation
rate for one group divided by the other equals 1.0—each
group is participating in proportion to its representation.
had a 220% negative disproportion in terms of time. By contrast, African Ameri-
can students participated proportionately 10% more than did white students in
this class, complicating the picture somewhat. Thus, we can see the complexities
that are introduced when we examine race using somewhat more fine-grained cat-
egories (although even here the categories are crude, obscuring differences within
groups such as Asian Americans or Latino/a). There are considerable variations in