THIS IS ALSO FOR THE KIDS.  FOR THE KIDS, I TELL YOU – AT 8:25 A.M. ET:  They're getting right deep in the heart of Texas.  Maybe, just maybe, this will prompt a desperately needed national discussion on higher education, probably the most oversold product in America.  From the Houston Chronicle: 

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?”

Now there's an intelligent question, and one that should have been asked decades ago, as the "college education" became sacrosanct.

The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.

“It's a matter of finances, and it's a matter of work force development,” said Donetta Goodall, vice chancellor of academic affairs and student success at Lone Star College, which serves suburban Houston and where about two-thirds of students require at least one remedial course.

“Funds are limited everywhere,” she said. “If we have people who can go straight through college, who we don't have to spend additional money on remediating them, that helps the work force but it also helps the coffers at the state level.”

COMMENT:  See story just below.  It's the people turning out students who can't read and write who are demanding more in federal funds.

We send far too many kids to college.  The result has been that jobs that, not long ago barely required a high-school education, now "require" college degrees because employers want to show that they have "high standards." 

Too many of our colleges are just glorified high schools, teaching material that "students" should have mastered in the tenth grade.  Will anyone notice?

May 24, 2010