Study Points Up Higher-Ed Shortcomings

February 1, 2010

What students are actually learning in America's colleges may astonish you.

On February 10, the nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) will release its fourth annual report assessing how well America's colleges and universities are preparing graduates for lives of informed and responsible citizenship.

This year's groundbreaking National Civic Literacy Report, "The Shaping of the American Mind," clearly shows that college fails to give graduates a grasp of essential elements of American history, government, and economics. The study also measures for the first time the impact that earning a bachelor's degree has on forming public opinion.

Among the findings in this scientific study:

So what does college do? It pushes opinion leftward on the most polarizing social issues.

In short, the findings in "The Shaping of the American Mind" sharply illustrate the real-world failure of a college degree and the politicized nature of higher education. For a copy of the report, visit AmericanCivicLiteracy.org.

- Intercollegiate Studies Institute