[WS:] I concur, it was my & my colleagues experience when I was teaching too.
I would like to add a somewhat different dimension to it, however - secondary education. The secondary education has been largely degraded to either test taking machines or social service delivery system. Whatever little teaching is taking place there is geared toward college preparation, which means getting decent test scores. The NCLB added new urgency to teaching to the test - failure to achieve passing scores may result in school closure, loss of jobs etc. As a result, secondary education is but a transmission belt to college and those who do not fit that mold simply drop out.
This has twofold effect on college education. First many students who have no interest in college education (they would rather take a different career path) are nonetheless railroaded to college, because this is where they can they actually learn some skills that should have been taught at a secondary level. So basically colleges, especially community colleges fulfill, for a large part, the function of secondary cum vocational training. Second, the relentless emphasis on standardized test taking does not develop cognitive skills that re typically required at the college level - such as critical thinking, problem solving, writing, etc.
This is yet another dimension of the absolutely poisonous effects that the implementation of the "business model" that emphasizes "measurable results" has on education in this country. But hey, the ruling class does not need educated grunts - they need compliant robots who will follow directions.
Wojtek
>