Too much college?

Study asks: Does everyone need a college education? (CSM)

By AMY ROLPH
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Is a national push to prepare every young person for college harming some students?

That's the question a group of Harvard researchers posed at the start of a recent study, and they answered themselves with, "Probably."

The report, titled "Pathways to Prosperity," points out that an increased emphasis on college may push some students to drop out of high school.

Students who are bored at school are often deterred by the thought of spending four more years in school, the study's authors point out. They advocate a dual system of preparedness more like some European countries, where students either prepare to enter college or opt for more career-oriented training traditionally associated with trades and apprenticeships.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan responded to the study Wednesday saying "college and career-ready skills are
really no longer two separate tracks."

More information is available from the Christian Science Monitor.

From the story:

Despite a clear message that college is important -- and a pervasive desire among young students to attend college -- only about 30 percent of Americans complete a bachelor's degree by their mid-20s, with another 10 percent completing an associate's degree by then. A massive effort in recent decades to increase those numbers has improved them only slightly.

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