[David]

The best way I heard to describe the need for afirmative action was this:

A coach has to pick one new runner for his track team. He has a choice of two runners. The faster one has perfect form. The other runner is just a hair slower and his form is very rough. Which should he pick?

The obvious would be the faster, but the slightly slower runner has more potential as his form improves with good coaching. The better choice is the slower runner.

This could be applied to a good student that came from a lower academically rated school.