Teaching was my second career. I enjoyed teaching high school and college English, but there were frustrations. Among them were college teachers and administrators complaining about how unprepared incoming freshmen were. I know what you’re thinking: plenty of high school teachers are awful. It’s their fault when kids entering college can’t read or write or do math.

Without question, there are some poor teachers out there. After all, 50% of people in every endeavor are below average. However, there are two arguably more important factors to consider.

The first is the effort of each student. The greatest teacher in the world can only present the best materials their resources and abilities will allow. It’s up to each student, and their parents, to ensure they take advantage of that opportunity, and it’s hardly a secret many don’t. The second is our colleges and universities are accepting people plainly unfit for college. Their primary qualification for admission is a solvent bank account. So serious is this problem, virtually every college has a remedial high school on campus. Freshmen are required to take remedial classes in many disciplines, paying full tuition for no credit, extending a four-year degree to seven years or so. Far too many drop out, deep in debt with no skills or certifications to pay that debt.

Charles Murray is a prolific author and writer on education. He notes: 

For 40 years, American leaders have been unwilling to discuss the underlying differences in academic ability that children bring to the classroom. Over the same period, federal policy, backed by billions of taxpayer dollars in loans and grants, has aggressively encouraged more and more students to try to obtain a college education. As a result, about half of all high-school graduates now enroll in four-year colleges, despite the ample evidence that just a small minority of American students — about 10-15% — have the academic ability to do well in college.

Hard truths. We waste not a tear on the 5’7” 140-pound kid who will never play varsity football, yet bristle at the idea everyone is not able to play in the academic varsity: college. I don’t suggest people who really want to attend college despite not being in the upper 15% of IQ range should be denied admission. I know many who worked very hard, earned a degree before grade inflation was common, and are better people for the experience.

The problem is when Barack Obama federalized the student loan industry, colleges were incentivized to admit everyone with a loan, which led to remedial high schools on campus, tuition inflation, grade inflation, and the devaluation of a college degree. One would think our Ivy League schools would not fall into this academic death spiral. One would think “surely they’d maintain academic standards!” One would think wrong. Even Harvard, our first university, founded in 1636 to teach ministers, has succumbed:

The Harvard Math Department will pilot a new introductory course aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills among students, according to Harvard’s Director of Introductory Math Brendan A. Kelly.

The course, titled Math MA5, will run alongside two established math courses — Math MA and MB — with an expanded five-day schedule.

Kelly said that students in MA5 will meet with “one of two instructors all five days” with “a variety of different activities” on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Most college classes meet only a few days a week. A five-day schedule reveals just how bad are these student’s math deficiencies. Harvard is blaming the problem on “distance learning” during the Covid lock downs. There is much blame to go around on that account, and every competent teacher knew “distance learning” was a useless scam, a desperate move to give the impression of learning, but that’s only a small part of the problem.

Graphic: Screenshot of Harvard online You Tube video

What is a supposedly elite university like Harvard doing admitting students without basic, high school math skills? Could Harvard have admission criteria that take precedence over academic ability? Wouldn’t admitting people they know are incapable of doing actual, college level work in what Harvard would surely say is America’s most elite university tend to force all manner of academic problems such as grade inflation, and professors fearing negative reviews from their students who fail to do course work? Wouldn’t all that and more tend to devalue a Harvard degree?

And whatever happened to kindly telling people they’re just not qualified, that there are specific performance standards and everyone must meet them if they want to enroll at America’s most prestigious center of higher education?

Sadly, the answers are obvious, aren’t they?

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.