Is the ‘Go to College’ Message Overdone?
Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.
“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”
One ment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, pared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists cautions that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.
Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.
She suggested two avenues for improving the situation: increasing vocational(职业的)-technical training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(资助).”
She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and puter programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.
【小题1】People usually think that .A．the cost of technical schooling is a problemB．one will not succeed without a college degreeC．technical skills are most important for landing a jobD．there is an increased petition in getting into a college【小题2】What does the underlined part “taking a page from” mean?A．Hearing from.B．Changing from.C．Differing from.D．Learning from.【小题3】What can we infer from the passage?A．Public institutions charge more for education.B．European universities are stricter with students.C．Students with certain skills are in great demand. D．Canadian students prefer to major in engineering.【小题4】Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that .A．too much stress has been put on the value of college degreesB．technical training is more important than college educationC．a college degree will ensure promising employmentD．it’s easier for art students to find favorite jobsB
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(答案→)B
解析：文章介绍我们过分强调大学学位的重要性，实际上大学学位并不能保证就业和光明的未来，反而技术工人现在需求很大，我们可以增加技术院校的比例或向欧洲国家学习，重视初期的教育，保证大学的质量。
【小题1】细节题：从第二段的句子：“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” 可知人们通常认为没有上大学就不会成功，选B
【小题2】猜词题：从后面的句子：“The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(资助).”可知欧洲更重视早期的教育，这种做法是很好的，所以应该向他们学习，“taking a page from”=learn from，选D。
【小题3】细节题：从最后一段的句子：She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and puter programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.可知技术工人现在需求很大，选C。
【小题4】细节题：从第一段的句子：Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, 可知Ms. Sawhill认为我们过分强调大学学位的重要性，选 A