[lbo-talk] How Much Do College Students Learn, and Study?

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Thu Jan 27 16:17:35 PST 2011


The study's conclusions were that 45% of students showed no statistically significant gain in critical thinking after two years, and that 36% showed no statistically significant gain in four years. So, the upper level classes only got to 1/5 of those who made no gains in the first two years. At my school, in most majors, the rigor simply never kicks in.

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Any use of this for coparaing generations is simply supid. There is no evidence for change.

It is equally possible that there has been _no_ change, that there has been an _improvment_ or that there has been a change for the worse.

I wouldn't be surprised if there had been an improvement in fact. I don remember anywhere's near to 1/3 of my classmates particularly changing in their thinking from freshman year to senior year.

Unless students have improved in the last 60 years, this study has considerably overestimated the present.

I still simply cannot under stand why anyone finds this study in the least interesting.

Carrol



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