Thanks for mentioning my paper, Terry.
The article by Barton is pretty good. Another important point he makes is that since 1995, the US economy’s productivity has grown substantially, but without any corresponding “improvement in workforce skills.” That is to say, somehow we have managed to have substantial economic growth even though the percentage of the labor force with college credentials hasn’t changed. The apparent conclusion is that educational credentials are not important, at least for a large number of people.
