Report: American Higher Ed System
Falling Behind World Rivals
By Charles Dervarics and David Pluviose
The United States is taking a back seat to Japan, Korea and other global rivals when it comes to educating its citizens, according to a recent report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
The report also notes persistent gaps in access and achievement between Whites and students of color in many states and finds that fast-rising college tuition is putting college out of reach for many would-be students.
In “Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education,” a national group of experts says the nation’s younger, more diverse population is not academically prepared to take over for the better-educated baby boom generation.
“The report card’s findings challenge the notion that the American higher education system is still the best in the world,” says James B. Hunt Jr., chair of the center’s board of directors and former governor of North Carolina.
“In such key areas as college access and completion, the U.S. has made little or no progress, while other countries have made substantial gains,” he adds. “Our country must not remain satisfied with past achievements or reputation. We can and must mobilize our nation, our states and our colleges for success in this global competition.”
The center’s new report is the fourth in a series and the first to make in-depth comparisons between U.S. and international students. The study finds that though the United States is still at the head of the pack in the proportion of its citizens age 35 to 64 with a college degree, the country is only seventh on this measure among 25- to 34-year-olds.
