The great Professor Walter E. Williams has authored a startling column: “Is College Education Worth It?”
“According to the National Conference of State Legislatures . . . studies have found anywhere from 28 percent to 40 percent of students enroll in at least one remedial course” upon entering college.
“Only 25 percent of students who took the ACT in 2012 met the test’s readiness benchmarks in all four subjects (English, reading, math and science).”
And there is a strong correlation between needing remedial education upon entry and failing to graduate.
“The fact of business is that colleges admit a far greater number of students than those who test as being college-ready.”
Williams cites a study at the University of North Carolina where it was found that 60 percent of the 183 members of the football and basketball teams read between fourth- and eighth-grade levels. “About 10 percent read below a third-grade level.”
Today, “1 in 3 college graduates have a job historically performed by those with a high-school diploma or the equivalent.”
