Why We Have College

More and more Americans are attending college. According to a recent New Yorker article by Louis Menand, 68% of graduating high school students attend college and 6% of the country’s population is currently enrolled in college or graduate school. By comparison, in Great Britain and France the rate is about 3%. Menand, a college professor who has worked at both private and public institutions, discusses various theories about what should be learned in college and how this learning can be measured. One theory is based on a meritocratic mode of thought where college tests intellectual ability and is in effect, an aptitude sorter. A second theory, based on a democratic mode, argues that students should attend college for exposure to a multifaceted world with various experiences. A third theory views the college degree as a vocational necessity.