Why college matters (for men as well as women)
The Times reviews a new book by Claudia Goldin and Laurence Katz, The Race Between Education and Technology. The authors argue that America’s economic dominance can be traced directly to its investment in education — an advantage that is being lost, compared to our competitor nations.
The authors reject the idea that the United States has reached some natural limit in educational advances. Other countries are now at higher levels.
What, then, is holding American youth back?
The authors give a two-part answer. For one thing, the financial aid system is a maze. More important, many people with high school diplomas are not ready for college.
The second problem, the authors write, is concentrated mostly in inner-city schools. Because the poor cannot easily move to better school districts, the authors allow that charter schools as well as vouchers, including those for private schools, could be helpful, but more evaluation is necessary.
Data on the effects of preschool are plentiful, and point to large returns on investment, so the authors join the chorus in extolling Head Start, the federal government’s largest preschool program.
Providing more children with a crucial start, along with easier ways to find financial aid, are laudable national objectives. One suspects, though, that the obstacles to getting more young people into and through college have to do with knotty social and cultural issues.
BUT assume that the authors’ policies would raise the national college graduation rate. Would that deeply reduce inequality?
Good question. I”m not sure the economic laws of previous decades will trigger the same impact. I am convinced, however, that college is the new high school, and neglecting to earn a two or four-year degree removes both men and women from competing in the global economy. Oddly, women have figured that out and responded with high college enrollment and graduation rates. By comparison, far fewer men have figured out the new economic realities.
