I’ve read two interesting pieces that may or may not have anything to do with each other.
The first is from George Leef over at The Locker Room.
Leef takes on an article in the current Chronicle Review by Anthony Carnevale that takes issue with “people who have argued that it’s a mistake to believe that a college degree is a good investment for just about everyone.”
Leef counters:
The main problem with Carnevale’s crowd is that they don’t believe in the invisible hand. What I mean is that they don’t trust individuals to make the optimal investments in their own human capital. They think that people need subsidies to get them into “the best” sort of education, namely that provided by colleges and universities. I believe otherwise. It is not a case of “discounting education’s value” to maintain that college coursework is not the ideal human capital investment for everyone and that we need not worry if more people start to conclude that college isn’t worth it, given their own interests and circumstances.
Then there’s Tuesday’s N&R editorial stating that “North Carolina must raise its standard and get a more realistic idea how its students are doing in math.”
The N&R is certainly correct in advocating that public schools do everything they can to improve students’ math skills.
But the reasoning is a bit dramatic:
Changes will be resisted by some. A higher threshold means more students are likely to fall short and require tutoring or, worse, retention. Costs will go up.
But costs already are escalating. They go up when colleges have to provide remedial instruction. They go up when graduates can’t qualify for jobs that require basic math skills. They go up when employers can’t find the kind of workers they need and relocate to other states or overseas.
Here’s my question: What kind of jobs require a college degree and basic math skills that a calculator can’t handle? For instance, does the N&R require reporters to solve a basic math problem before hiring him or her?
Perhaps we should trust that students who are interested in professions that require serious math skills will, with the right guidance, make the optimal investment in their own human capital and acquire the skills they need for their chosen profession.
