Re: [Phys-l] Glass's "The Fate of Public Education in America"; an Alternate View

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 06/15/2010 03:26 PM, Ann Reagan wrote:

> Competition works.

We agree that competition is a powerful force.

It does not, however, always act in the direction of
good public policy.

By way of example, consider the "competition" between
Exxon-Mobil, BP, Shell, BHP Billiton, et cetera.  If
this is what you mean by "competition works" then I
would hate to see what happens when it doesn't work.

Also consider the "competition" between Goldman Sachs,
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BoA, et cetera.  If this 
is what you mean by "competition works" then I would 
hate to see what happens when it doesn't work.

> Could it be that the colleges and universities offer the ultimate
> example of "school choice".

Do you really want to use them as the ultimate example?

  http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2010/bs20100211_635552.htm

> > > State Universities Brace for Another Brutal Year //// With dwindling
> > > support from recession-battered state governments, many schools are
> > > bracing for more cost-cutting and steep tuition hikes

The competitive marketplace "works" here too:

  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/

> > Graduates of another for-profit school -- a college nursing program
> > in California -- tell FRONTLINE that they received their diplomas
> > without ever setting foot in a hospital. Graduates at other
> > for-profit schools report being unable to find a job, or make their
> > student loan payments, because their degree was perceived to be of
> > little worth by prospective employers. One woman who enrolled in a
> > for-profit doctorate program in Dallas later learned that the school
> > never acquired the proper accreditation she would need to get the job
> > she trained for. She is now sinking in over $200,000 in student
> > debt.