Archive for November, 2005

America is falling behind other nations in mathematics ability, and it’s beginning to show up in our public policies. Consider these facts:

A recent federal report found the cost of attending a public four-year institution rose by 22 percent between 2001-02 and 2004-05, and tuition and fees for in-state students at those institutions grew by 33 percent, more than for any other sector of higher education.

We found Richard Colvin, director of the Hechinger Institute, taking notes at last week’s national summit on college costs. We told him we have a blog, and asked him to offer his observations. Here is his contribution, which we think is a terrific overview of the day’s events:

The most striking aspect of Lumina Foundation’s national summit on college costs on Nov. 2 was the bracingly honest conversations. The presenters did not minimize the challenges — educational, demographic, political and economic — that lie ahead for the U.S. and its colleges and universities. Nor did they shy away from acknowledging that not only have colleges and universities done little to address these challenges, they have little incentive to do so in the current seller’s education market. Except, of course, if they expect to survive over the long term.