Solving the Grade-Inflation Problem
Educators on the right and left condemn grade inflation in K-12 and universities. Inflated grades mark the transformation of education from actual learning to credentialing. Grade inflation at America’s universities…
Help College Students Read
Gone are the days when reading a book was the preferred means to knowledge, replaced by the rapid consumption of digital media and the allure of screen-based entertainment. This phenomenon…
Let’s Hear It From the Faculty
Like many readers of this site, I pay a lot of attention to stories about the latest outrages on our college campuses. All too often, we are told about attempts…
Comparing Apples and Oranges at UNC-Chapel Hill
How do you measure curiosity? Or kindness? Is it even possible to do such a thing? And, if so, can it be done by an admissions office that reads more…
What Today’s Economics Students Aren’t Learning About Economics
The economics major is in dire straits. Across the nation, econ curricula aren’t instilling an appreciation for, or even a familiarity with, the economic way of thinking. Theory classes limit…
Professors’ Self-Censoring Has Consequences
In a recent Inside Higher Ed/Hanover Research survey, over 90 percent of college professors from public, private, two-year, and four-year universities said they strongly or somewhat agree that academic freedom…
Ten Books We Want Under the Tree in 2024
The Martin Center’s in-house library continues to grow, boasting over 900 books and journals as of this writing. Nevertheless, a higher-ed policy institute needs a constant infusion of new titles,…
Florida’s Much-Needed General-Education Reform
Florida administrators are revising general education in universities and colleges. Perverse incentives have diluted and politicized general-education courses at the expense of foundational knowledge. Since universities will not fix themselves,…
Don’t Dismiss Early-College Options
The College Board has dumbed down its Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. That’s the message from Steven Mintz, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, in a letter…
“We Need to Make a Change”
Duke College Republicans (DCR), founded in 1965, was an active organization on the Durham campus for 55 years before its sudden dissolution during the 2020 election season. After four years…