America: A flagging model | The Economist.
This is a continuation of the “Must Read” in The Economist.
I commented.
This article makes the critical observation
that
“…returns [to individual students] have held up not because graduates have done so well but because those with only high-school degrees have done so badly…”
That is an important point that, as a former math professor, I have observed for over 20 years. (I will explain below.) It cannot be stressed enough that the poor performance of high school grads is largely because of the poor education colleges deliver to everyone – from future high school teachers to those high school teachers’ future faux-professors (graduated under lucrative grants made to “elite” schools.) Thus, even k-12’s lack of quality is demeaned by the corrupted values of higher education.
(For more explanation and shocking cases, see the category “University Education Dumbs Down High School” on my blog www.inside-higher-ed.com)
The Economist is on to something big when it notes that
“…If graduates earn more than non-graduates because their studies have made them more productive, then university education will boost economic growth and society should want more of it. Yet poor student scores suggest otherwise…” (from LEADERS, page 13.)
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