"When measuring the IQ of undergraduates, graduates, and high school-educated individuals, we find that the mean IQ of degree-holders has plunged in the last 50 years. The mean IQ of a graduate student in the 1960s was 114, but by the 2000s it was just 105.8. For undergraduates, the mean IQ dropped from 111.3 to 100.4 by the 2010s. An IQ of 100 is average, therefore a college degree now merely signals average intelligence to potential employers. A college-educated person today scores barely a point higher than a high school-educated person did in the 1960s. Indeed, that since the 1970s, the “vocabulary attainment” of Americans declined across all levels of education, with the largest declines found in undergraduate and graduate students."
Nice thumbnail
Nice piece here Nicholas.
I tend to agree with the core tenants found in the conclusion that:
1) We probably could make the final 2 years of high school non-mandatory
2) We are over subsidizing high education.
For what it’s worth, I also noted on the topic of signaling here: https://www.lianeon.org/p/the-tuition-treadmill
"When measuring the IQ of undergraduates, graduates, and high school-educated individuals, we find that the mean IQ of degree-holders has plunged in the last 50 years. The mean IQ of a graduate student in the 1960s was 114, but by the 2000s it was just 105.8. For undergraduates, the mean IQ dropped from 111.3 to 100.4 by the 2010s. An IQ of 100 is average, therefore a college degree now merely signals average intelligence to potential employers. A college-educated person today scores barely a point higher than a high school-educated person did in the 1960s. Indeed, that since the 1970s, the “vocabulary attainment” of Americans declined across all levels of education, with the largest declines found in undergraduate and graduate students."