Why Johnny Can Go to College

What's higher education to do, beset with stories of rising tuition, bad press about 'How Colleges are Gouging You' and threats of congressional action? Release a study, of course, that says it's really not as bad as you think. It's titled "Too Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing," but the subtext is "Hey, wait a minute -- we're not the bad guys here." The study put out by the American Council on Education says that while Americans think yearly tuition at a community college is $4,026, it's actually only an eminently reasonable $1,501, or about how much a used '91 Escort would set you back. And four-year State U. is an even better deal -- while we think it's $9,694 for an in-state student (must be confusing Penn with Penn State), it's really only $3,111. Looks like we can send both kids to school after all, Martha.

All of which seems like a bargain, unless you consider that junior colleges and most four-year state schools spend much of the first two years (or $6,222 at Big State) teaching what students would have learned if their public high schools were worth anything at all. Now, making that happen would be a real bargain.