In 2024, roughly a third of U.S. adults (32%) had little or no confidence in the nation’s higher education system. That’s a threefold increase compared to only a decade ago: in 2015, the figure stood at only 10%.
Student perceptions of the quality and value of higher education leave much to be desired, too. One survey revealed that on-the-job training, licensing courses, and professional certification programs are deemed more valuable than four- and two-year college or university degrees.
Another one exposed the divide between the students who have student loans and those who don’t. The former were more likely to say the costs outweighed the benefits (35% vs 16%).
That said, the value and quality can be defined in a myriad of ways, and these surveys were always meant to study subjective opinions and perceptions. So, how could we objectively measure whether higher education succeeds at equipping students with what they need to succeed later in life?
One study, published as a book called Academically Adrift, decided to investigate it. To that end, researchers tested students’ critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and other higher-level skills before and during college studies. Here’s what the study found.
Key Findings at a Glance
For the study, researchers administered the Collegiate Learning Assessment tests to 2,300 students at multiple points before and during their time in college. These tests were designed to evaluate the participants’:
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving skills
- Scientific and quantitative reasoning
- Writing skills
- Ability to critique
- Ability to make arguments
The study sought to measure the gains (or lack thereof) in these skills among higher education school students. It showed that:
- Almost half of the students tested (45%) didn’t show any improvement within the first two years
- Roughly a third of students (36%) didn’t attain higher scores within all four years
- Among the students who did experience progress in their skills, the gains weren’t substantial
Researchers also investigated the factors that could explain the underwhelming testing results, such as:
- Lack of rigor. A third of students don’t take courses that entail 40+ pages of required reading per week. Half took only courses with fewer than 20 pages of writing per semester.
- Insufficient independent study time. The study found that students spend most of the 12 to 14 hours of studying per week in a group setting. Yet, those who dedicated more time to studying on their own scored higher on the assessment.
Why Do Students Lack Critical Skills?
According to researchers, the college students aren’t entirely to blame for the subpar assessment results. In fact, they cite the lack of high expectations and strict requirements as the main reason why students’ skills stagnate.
Teaching staff need to foster academic rigor with assignments that challenge students to reflect and argue instead of preparing them for standardized tests. Otherwise, students may continue getting good grades throughout their studies, only to graduate without substantially improving their ability to think critically, reason, and solve problems.
At the same time, participation in extracurriculars or social engagements didn’t correlate with higher scores on the assessment. Therefore, encouraging such experiences shouldn’t be the primary focus for the teaching staff.
While mandatory testing or stringent curriculum requirements imposed on the state or federal level are the usual solution for potential quality issues, the authors argue against them. After all, mandates such as these won’t really change the culture of college education. Yet, that’s exactly what needs to happen.
Due to the current modalities of financing, colleges and universities are focused on making a sale rather than helping students succeed. That’s the perverse incentive of the higher education system funded primarily through tuition and fees. Students aren’t there to learn; they’re paying clients.
How Students Performed Across Subjects
One interesting finding concerns student learning across different disciplines. Students majoring in liberal arts developed complex reasoning, critical thinking, and writing skills at a higher rate than their counterparts in other fields. At the same time, students working towards a degree in business, education, social work, and communications demonstrated the smallest gains among all groups.
What could explain these differences? The authors of the study attribute the disparity in results to the nature of assignments across fields. Liberal arts students have to deal with challenging assignments that engage their critical thinking, problem-solving, and other skills more frequently. Other fields, like business and education, prioritize memorization and reproduction over analytical thinking and reasoning.
This finding further supports one of the study’s main conclusions: students need to deal with more demanding assignments to develop their soft skills. After all, these skills are important not just in everyday life: they’re also in high demand among employers across all industries.
How the Academic World Reacted to the Study
Once the study was published as a book, it gathered quite a few reactions. Its findings generated a buzz, with positive reviews piling up in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Times Higher Education, and U.S. News & World Report, to name a few. Even Bill Gates went on record to say, “Before reading this book, I took it for granted that colleges were doing a very good job.”
The academic community was a bit more divided over the contents of the book, however. Some experts have criticized the use of the Collegiate Learning Assessment to evaluate students’ skills. Others dismissed the study because of the perceived vagueness and incompleteness of the recommendations the authors make for improving the quality of education.
Despite those criticisms, however, most experts agreed that the authors did their job, and did it well. Academically Adrift’s methodology, while not perfect, holds up, and the wealth of data provided makes for a compelling case for why a major reform is necessary to improve learner outcomes.
What Decision-Makers Should Learn from the Study
The study’s findings offer valuable recommendations for improving the state of higher education. The main one boils down to creating a culture that values progress in skill development over credit accumulation and course completion.
Yes, championing such a cultural shift is easier said than done. It’s up to every institution to decide how to foster the culture of academic rigor and self-development. No mandate or legal requirement will be able to impose it; the change has to come from within. (Undoing the student-client mindset, however, could be incentivized by making tuition more affordable or free on the state or federal level.)
While the solution will vary from school to school, prioritizing coursework that challenges students’ critical thinking and other skills is a must. Strengthening academic standards beyond course completion and GPA requirements is another.
Educators should also reassess their curricula and ask themselves: Do they prioritize fostering critical soft skills throughout the program? Or do they focus on memorizing information, reproducing it, and securing high test scores?
Ultimately, the teaching staff should be there for students as mentors, guiding them in developing these skills. That, however, requires reversing the cost-cutting trend of substituting full-time and tenured staff with part-time hires.
Final Thoughts
Academically Adrift could be called an indictment of the U.S. higher education system, but its findings don’t have to leave us feeling helpless. With these problems exposed (and backed by sufficient data), the ball is now in the decision-makers’ court to take concrete steps to improve the quality of education.
Colleges and universities can and should shift gears to prioritize student progress and success over credits, grades, and tuition fees. After all, students deserve a higher education system that does more than just deliver a diploma at the end of a two- or four-year program. They deserve a system that helps them become better learners, workers, and citizens, and a cultural shift is the only path forward.
