First, we should assess whether most universities are even good at their job of educating students or developing critical thinking skills. “Academically Adrift,” a study published in 2011, found that in an “analysis of more than 2,300 undergraduates at twenty-four institutions, 45 percent of these students demonstrate no significant improvement in a range of skills—including critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing—during their first two years of college.”
I’m willing to bet that a control group of 18-22 year olds working regular jobs rather than attending college would have shown greater improvement in their critical thinking. Funding a study to find out and communicating the results to the public could expose a scandal: We are paying billions of dollars to universities with little to no improvement in the fundamental thing they are supposed to offer. And even if it did end up showing that some schools were good at improving critical thinking skills, it’s doubtless that some would be far better than others and we could learn what the good schools are doing right and what the bad schools are doing wrong.
Another possibility is a large-scale experiment in which students take the SATs, or any number of achievement tests, both before and after college so we can measure any improvement in critical thinking versus a control group working a regular job.
And while these realizations would likely be dispiriting for many who have invested fortunes — not to mention time they won’t get back — into higher education, they would also set the stage for major improvements. If people feel fed up, skeptical, and like they are getting ripped off, it will be easier to push for change.