Certainly this idea, Helping the Poor in Education: The Power of a Simple Nudge – NYTimes.com doesn’t hurt, but we can do much better. I commented. Helping someone get a college “degree” – without a college “education” – only helps at the periphery; especially when they only have a high school “degree”, but no high school […]
If We Don’t Test Students, How Will We Know Which Colleges Don’t Teach?
January 14, 2015 by
Duncan lays out priorities for education law: Testing, preschool funding, teacher evals – The Washington Post. I commented. I’m a former math professor. I have seen firsthand why so many high school students don’t have a chance to learn. It all starts in college. Here is how it happens, what to do about it, why […]
Americans Think We Have the World’s Best Colleges. We Don’t. – NYTimes.com
June 28, 2014 by
There is more data (“Academically Adrift” reported on this a few years ago.) that show that the “average” college grad in American Americans Think We Have the World’s Best Colleges. We Don’t. – NYTimes.com. To illustrt]ate the data, I commented as follows. “The poor quality of k-12, especially high school, is DUE to the corruption (over […]
Krugman Relying on Flawed Data on “Skills Gap”
March 31, 2014 by
In today’s New York Times, Prof. Krugman has a column arguing that there is no “skills gap”. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/opinion/krugman-jobs-and-skills-and-zombies.html?ref=opinion&_r=0 I believe he is making a misake which I explained in a comment. “I am afraid that Prof. Krugman – whom I admire greatly – is making a fundamental mistake. He is, probably unknowingly, equating a “degree” […]
WSJ: Pressured to State Facts, Schools Give Excuses and Questionable Data
March 17, 2014 by
There is a good article in today’s WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/reader-comments.html?baseDocId=SB10001424052702303546204579435050684294642&headline=Colleges%20Are%20Tested%20by%20Push%20to%20Prove%20Graduates’%20Career%20Success I commented as follows: from my experience as a former professor (I taught math at Wsshington University at St. Louis.), I read the opening paragraphs of this article as follows: “Marketing and sales departments of universities tout their schools qualities, but are unwilling to release data […]
Excellent Op-Ed But, Again, The Author Seems Not Aware of the Fundamental Problem.
March 3, 2014 by
In her New York Times Op-Ed, SUZANNE METTLER, points out how college now increases inequality. This is no surprise to readers of this blog. Here are the relevant posts. American 15-Year-Olds Fall Further Back in Math No Jobs for Ph.D’s? Depends on what you mean by Ph.D. Professor Alfred Doesn’t Know What is Wrong with […]
I Answer: More than 4 out of 5 students graduate without a job. How could colleges change that? – The Washington Post
More than 4 out of 5 students graduate without a job. How could colleges change that? – The Washington Post. “…How Could Colleges Change That?…” I can guarantee two things. (1) They could change “that” by not scamming people by telling them they are educating “students”, when they are just conning “customers”. (2) Don’t count […]