Time – Ramesh Ponnuru
“We may be close to maxing out on the first strategy. Our high college drop-out rate — 40% of kids who enroll in college don’t get a degree within six years — may be a sign that we’re trying to push too many people who aren’t suited for college to enroll. It has been estimated that, in 2007, most people in their 20s who had college degrees were not in jobs that required them: another sign that we are pushing kids into college who will not get much out of it but debt.”(more)
Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington
“What is the underlaying cause of the college drop out rate and the disconnect between college cost and post college income? The basic problem is that the primary and secondary education system in the US is not providing kids with the necessary skills for 21st Century employment. As a result, young people go to college to become “job ready”. However, most 21st Century jobs require analytical abilities (math skills). Today, even historians and public policy analysts use statistics, build databases and incorporate math formulas into spreadsheet analyses. By the time kids reach college it is nearly impossible to learn a sequential subject like math. So sady these young people are routed to college courses that do not require math skills. Then reality hits. The number of jobs that can be filled by people without analytic abilities is shrinking, so an education that does not include math does little to improve job prospects. This new reality means many young people leave college with large debts and few job prospects.”