The Paradox of College: The Rising Cost of Going (and Not Going!) to School

Derek Thompson:

The most important issue in higher education might not be cost control. It might be advertising.

Have you heard about the dangerous, rising cost of not going to college? In the last 30 years, the typical college tuition has tripled. But over the exact same period, the earnings gap between college-educated adults and high school graduates has also tripled. In 1979, the wage difference was 75%. In 2003, it was 230%.

Over the last three decades, the cost of going to college has increased at nearly the exact same rate as the cost not going to college. How can the price of getting something and not getting something both rise at the same time?

That is the paradox of college costs.

BUYING THEIR ATTENTION

In the fight to put low-income kids on the college track, one of the simplest weapons is also one of the most controversial. It's cash. If a student gets a good grade, he gets some money. If he doesn't get a good grade, he gets no money. Same goes for teachers. If their students succeed, they get richer. If they don't, then they don't.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 22, 2012 4:35 AM
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