Yet Another Reason Why "Free" College Is A Bad Idea

We know that students today aren't doing as well academically as they did in years past.  Those of us in education know that there are bad teachers, but there have always been bad teachers.  That can't be the cause.  We also know that "guidance" from the feds about suspensions and other forms of discipline, about "tracking", about "social justice" requiring even unprepared kids to take any class they want--all of these, and our litigious society, harm education for everyone.  Schools don't exist in a vacuum, they're a microcosm of society.  Society is ill, and it should come as no surprise that education is, too.

Our society already offers 13 years of no-out-of-pocket-cost education, but some people want more.  There's even a presidential candidate or two promising "free" college for everyone.  What's the point?  Why should people who don't take advantage of the 13 years we already give them get 4 more?

Only 37% of American 12th-graders were academically prepared for college math and reading in 2015, a slight dip from two years earlier, according to test scores released Wednesday.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” said that share was down from an estimated 39% in math and 38% in reading in 2013.

Educators and policy makers have long lamented that many seniors get diplomas even though they aren’t ready for college, careers or the military. Those who go to college often burn through financial aid or build debt while taking remedial classes that don’t earn credits toward a degree.

Barely 1 in 3--which is the fraction California decided should attend our UC's and CSU's when the Master Plan for Higher Education was drafted back in 1960.

Everyone doesn't need to attend college, and allowing people to do so "free" is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money.