Posted on 01/27/2024 5:53:46 AM PST by george76
The average college student has average intelligence, concludes a meta-analysis by Canadian researchers, writes Ross Pomeroy on Big Think. In 1939, when only 10 percent of Americans enrolled in college, the average IQ was 119. By 2022, it's down to 102, not significantly above the average of 100.
“The decline in students’ IQ is a necessary consequence of increasing educational attainment over the last 80 years,” the researchers wrote. “Today, graduating from university is more common than completing high school in the 1940s.”
The “Flynn effect” -- a steady rise in IQs from 1940 onward -- has been well established, writes Pomeroy. However, "there are signs it may have reversed in the first two decades of the 21st century."
The "college for all" movement and easy access to student loans persuaded most high school graduates to give college a try. However, only 58 percent of students complete a degree within six years, Pomeroy notes. Students with lower IQs are more likely to drop out. "One influential study showed that for white American undergraduates with an IQ only slightly above average, their chance of graduating is essentially 50-50."
The researchers called for professors to "adjust curricula and academic standards" so average students can succeed. However, they warned that “employers can no longer rely on applicants with university degrees to be more capable or smarter than those without degrees.”
Some degrees will retain their value, especially those from selective universities. But a Fuzzy Studies degree from Regional State U will be even less impressive to employers. (I believe a gender studies degree signals: "Don't hire this person.")
In 2017, Education Testing Service "experts" estimated that physics (133), math (130), philosophy (129) and materials science (129) majors have the highest IQs. (I assume they're extrapolating from SAT scores.) I was an English major (120). Education majors average 110.
"A degree has become increasingly meaningless as more people attain it," writes Pomeroy.
"Last year, for the first time, the Wall Street Journal-NORC poll showed that 56% of Americans think attending college is not worth the cost," a significant change in 10 years. "Skepticism is strongest" among people of college age.
Thats higher than i thought it would be.
“My family didn’t get TV until 1955. “
Just out of curiosity do you remember the first show you all watched together?
Extra credit for your specific multiple majors, but it’s actually your interdisciplinary study that puts you in the most elite SAT company:
https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-average-sat-score-for-every-college-major-2014-10?op=1
It will continue to drop as long as colleges need money and students can borrow at cheap interest rates. Otherwise, all of those buildings that were built with government money will have to be abandoned and all of those overpaid administrators laid off.
I taught for 35 years at a state university. During that time, the number of students increased about 20%, the number of buildings increased at least 100%, faculty increased by about 8%, and administrators increased by 300%.
You can fire the administrators, but you still have to maintain all of those buildings.
And reflects a far lower level of educational achievement.
Pretty soon everyone will be riding the short buses. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
But seriously, way back when, only the real elites who had much advantages over those who couldn’t afford to go to colleges.
Bingo. An affirmative action education where everything is “wasis” isn’t worth the paper their diplomas are printed on.
Unfortunately, many studies demonstrate that potential, lived IQ is capped by nature—and more due to nature than nurture. Not, of course, that nurture, including nutrition and environment, is not also important.
My sportyball team beat your sportyball team last week. To speak to your point.
There are some colleges where having graduated from there matters, many where it does not, or matters little vs. somewhere else.
In general, we’re shoving way too many through the college system, many who should be undergoing vocational education. One of the reasons Georgia is highly ranked by businesses as a place to do business is because there is an excellent vocational/technical college system.
Why do you need an IQ? You have a 'smart phone' with google...
Even more sorry is that our average national IQ is now estimated to be just below 98.
Thanks to modern, illegal immigration, IMO.
[[When I was younger the idea was that people with higher IQ’s should go to college, and college was intellectually challenging. ]]
Yep- I think that sums it up and explains why the iq for college students tends to be higher-
Like Clint Eastwood said “a man’s got to know his limitations “
Most folks tended to think that a life of hard blue collar work was in store for,them fate-wise if they weren’t smart, so off to work at a young age, while the smarter folks thought that higher education would give them advantages in life, so off to further schooling they went.
I think that might explain the difference in average iqs
Today however, hardly any of the kids want to go off to work, and with all the low income grants and such go to higher education, so the average is drops. Back I. The day I don’t think low income grants were as available.
I remember the first movie we watched... don’t laugh... ok laugh... the sound of music. The parents dragged us to it
*****On top of that, smarter kids are starting to question the value of a grossly overpriced “college experience.”****
Yep, the smart kids are figuring out that becoming an electrician, plumber, landscaper can mean owning your own company and living in a million dollar plus home and having lots of employees and a great life.
A degree in African studies or DEI means if you are lucky you might get a job and that career is now on the way out.
.
None of this is new. Not at all.
35 years ago I was a computer software development consultant.
I chanced to work with another software development consultant / contractor - a guy from Florida, several years out of college, very nice, pleasant, friendly guy.
But quite frankly dumb as a brick.
The guy was ALWAYS pleasantly smiling. The guy knew amazingly little about software development. Amazingly little.
And this guy is was getting paid upwards of $30 to $35 per hour - 35 years ago.
How?
Easier to eliminate the smarter ones..who will not do your bidding...
Then once you’ve eliminated most the smarter ones you take care of the dum dums. Except for a small percent which will be the new elites slaves.
Get rid of all the “women’s studies” and alike then this will normalize. It should be broken down further into STEM vs. liberal arts. There’s many programs that didn’t exist years ago.
Simple stats are meaningless.
Get rid of all the “women’s studies” and alike then this will normalize. It should be broken down further into STEM vs. liberal arts. There’s many programs that didn’t exist years ago.
Simple stats are meaningless.
I was joking, but in a large enough sample size, that premise applies with a small tolerance (i.e., the mean and median will be close to the same number).
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