Posted on 05/25/2010 5:22:14 AM PDT by reaganrevolutionin2010
It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can't do the work.
Developmental education — reteaching basic skills in reading, writing and math — is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves. Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue.
But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment.
“It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?”
The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
>>It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can’t do the work.<<
I don’t to whom it has been a secret. It has been evident to anyone in the work force at any level of management in any industry that requires mental and communications skills.
“Many in college lack basic skills”
Understatement of the year! High school graduates as a whole are dumbed down more each year. There are exceptions though. A smart, driven kid will have no problem excelling in today’s world.
</post before 9:00 AM>
Right. One only has to look at the resumes of college graduates to see the high percentage that are incapable of putting together gramatically correct, logical sentences.
“Many in college lack basic skills”
I work at a university. It is IMPOSSIBLE to overstate this fact.
College is the new high school. The push for everyone to have a college degree has dumbed down college and reduced the value of a degree. When I was coming up college was, in general, only for the best students. Now we expect our ‘C’ students to go onto higher education. I’m strongly in favor of making college more rigorous and shoveling people who don’t need a college degree to be successful in their chosen vocation to vocational schools and community colleges.
That's nothing! Many so-called 'journalists' lack basic skills, but that doesn't keep them from trying to tell us how to run our lives.
I suspect, however, that 100% of that 73% could tell you instantly who got kicked off The Survivor Island last week.
And obvious to anyone entering college. The remedial math, English, and writing classes have more students in them than any others.
Back in the mid 90’s after I retired from the Navy, I took a number of business and accounting courses at the local college. One required course was Business Math 101. The instructor spent the first half of the course conducting basic arithmetic lessons because 2/3rds of the class was incapable of adding and subtracting, could not figure percentages, or even do the most fundamental checkbook balancing even with a calculator. It was deeply frustrating to the few of us who really were ready for some of the advanced stuff, had paid for exactly that, and were stuck doing 3rd and 4th grade arithmetic problems for homework.
Except for the fact that Uncle Sugar has already mortgaged his future, along with that of his next few generations of descendants. I bet a lot of them are going to be demoralized very quickly when they realize they are the small percentage of suckers still pulling the wagon that the rest of the freeloading world is riding in.
It’s long been a fact that even those admitted to the Ivy leagues need remedial reading and math.
High schools have almost completely ceased functioning in many places, except as detention facilities or teenage daycare.
We should encourage kids to drop out of high school if they don’t want to be there, so they won’t interfer with the kids who want to learn. I was just thinking about my neighbor growing up in Queens. He had an eigth grade education, landed on Normandy on D-Day + 2, engaged Tiger Tanks with direct artillery fire during the Bulge, worked as a driver for the Water Department and raised a family and was one helluva shade tree mechanic. What possible good would high school have done him?
Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Not if you graduated from an American high school after 1990.
“Throw more money at it, that will solve the problem!” [snort]
You are right.
Part of my job is evaluating potential hires, reading resume submissions and interviewing. Note, this is for positions that require a college degree in an extremely technical field. (undergrad and some graduate degrees) You wouldn't believe some of the things I've read and heard. Two quick examples: simple grammar mistakes on resumes that scream "I'm inattentive to detail!" or "I don't know how to communicate effectively." -- not even interviewed. Or the interview where they guy proudly proclaimed yes, he had written that much computer code - all in one night, the night before the project was due. Really? You're telling me you procrastinate, and then turn in shoddy work? No interviewed further.
We are currently evaluating a half dozen people for an entry level position. The leading contender? A home schooled guy who went on to excel in college. We have a meeting to discuss the position later this AM, he'll probably be getting a phone call this afternoon.
I’ve worked for over thirty five years in post secondary education and the students of today are like talking vegetables. Honestly the only thing I’ll miss about teaching when I retire is the front row of legs.
DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!
:-)
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