Considering how much college tuition costs nowadays, you should be able to say more than "it's not a total failure".
A college graduate should come away with a topnotch education, not an education that's one step above failure.
Posted on 10/31/2006 10:19:19 PM PST by John Semmens
The American Institutes for Research assessed the literacy of graduating seniors from two- and four-year colleges and universities. The findings indicate that many college graduates are only semi-literate. 20 percent of U.S. college students completing four-year degrees have limited quantitative skills. For example, they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gas to get to the next gas station or to calculate the sum of a list of purchases.
The study also finds that more than 50 percent of students at four-year colleges have limited literacy skills. For example, they can’t understand the arguments in a newspaper editorial.
These results have occurred despite the massive resources invested in education. Universities nationwide have been receiving increased taxpayer subsidies, tuition and fees for decades.
Royal Conway, spokesman for the American Association of University Administrators, took issue with the negative conclusions some have been drawing from these study results. “Let me point out that, taking these results at face value, they show that almost half of college graduates are literate and 80 percent have some grasp of numbers,” said Conway. “I think this shows that higher education is not a total failure.”
Conway went on to challenge the premises of the study. “The study also presumes that literacy is a goal of education,” Conway said. “Not everyone agrees on this narrow view. Life has multiple objectives. Literacy isn’t the only path to happiness. The electronic media can bridge the gaps in a person’s reading skills and allow them to function without a full knowledge of the language.”
Conway pointed to the vast number of illegal aliens who can’t speak English as evidence that full literacy is not essential. “Businesses like McDonalds have developed icon-based cash-registers that help overcome illiteracy,” said Conway. “Our graduates fit right in with these emerging technologies. So, I’d say we’re doing okay.”
read more...
http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm
But they make good liberals, at least for a while. And that seems to be the goal of the American education system these days. Problem is, liberals make sh*tty people.
Betcha a bunch of people fall for it. ;)
Ping!
It has me chuckling. It's almost plausible.
Considering how much college tuition costs nowadays, you should be able to say more than "it's not a total failure".
A college graduate should come away with a topnotch education, not an education that's one step above failure.
You've got to be kidding me?
B-)
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Literacy skills are not needed to understand most newspaper editorials.
Literacy skills would hinder understanding more than 50 persent of newspaper editorials.
How do I put this,
as a fan of your writings and satire, I have to ay that this particular piece is missing the outalndish position put forth in an absurd argument.
And I believe the actual % of college grads who are competent in math is lower than the number in your article.
The statistics are actual findings of the cited study.
The rationalizations were obtained by bugging high-level, secret discussions undertaken at leading universities.
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