VOA教育报道2024--Is College Worth It?

A new study says that Americans have increasing questions about the value and cost of a college education. Most of the people taking part in the study felt that higher education in the U.S. is headed in the "wrong direction."

Gallup and the Lumina Foundation carried out the study. It found that only 36 percent of adults said they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education.

That confidence level has decreased steadily¹ from 57 percent in 2015. That was the first year in which Gallup measured confidence in higher education.

The decline is seen in all subgroups of people including sex, age, and political ties. Among Republican Party members in the study, the number of people with high confidence in higher education has dropped 36 percentage points over the last 10 years. That is far more than for Democratic Party members or independents.

Some of the opinions in the study might show concerns about the high cost of college and how race and other subjects are taught.

Fifty-nine-year-old Randy Hill is a registered Republican in Connecticut and a driver for a car service. He told the Associated Press, "It's so expensive, and I don't think colleges are teaching people what they need to get a job." Hill said his nephew plans to do a welding apprenticeship³ after high school instead of going to college.

The June 2024 study found that 36 percent of adults feel strong confidence in higher education. That percentage is unchanged from the year before.

But the researchers said they were concerned that fewer Americans were saying that they had "some" confidence, and more were reporting "very little" or "none." This year's findings show almost as many people have little or no confidence, 32 percent, as those with high confidence.

Experts say that fewer college graduates could worsen labor⁴ shortages in fields from health care to information technology. For those who do not go to college, it often means lower lifetime earnings⁵.

Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce⁶ said lifetime earnings for those without a bachelor's degree could be 75 percent less than for those with a degree. The center also said that during an economic downturn, those without college degrees are more likely to lose their jobs.

Courtney Brown is a vice² president at Lumina, an education nonprofit group. It aims to increase the number of students who seek education beyond high school. She said, "What's shocking to me is that the people who have low or no confidence is actually increasing."

This year's study added new, detailed⁷ questions in an effort to understand why confidence is shrinking.

Almost one-third of people in the study said college is "too expensive." About 25 percent thought students are not getting the right education or taught what they need to succeed.

The study did not ask about the protests against the war in Gaza this year that divided many college communities. But people who took part said they had concerns about indoctrination, political bias⁸, and that colleges are too liberal. Among those who said they lack confidence in college, 41 percent said political activity was a reason.

Other findings

Sixty-seven percent of adults in the study said colleges are headed in the "wrong direction." That is more than two times higher than the 31 percent who think that colleges are going in the right direction.

Gallup noted⁹ that when people express confidence in higher education, they are thinking of four-year colleges. But the study found that more people have confidence in two-year community colleges.

Forty-nine percent of adults said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in two-year programs, compared with 33 percent of Americans who feel that way about four-year colleges.

California college student Kristen Freeman said she understands why.

"It's about saving money. That's why I went to a two-year. It's more bang for your buck¹⁰," said Freeman who is a 22-year-old sociology major at Diablo Valley Community College. She plans to go to San Jose State University for the final two years of college.

Freeman said she understands the concerns about indoctrination and whether college prepares students for life and work. But she feels the only way to change structural¹¹ problems is from the inside.

"I am learning about the world around me and developing useful skills in critical thinking," Freeman said. "I think higher education can give students the spark to want to change the system."

Words in This Story

confidence -n. a belief that something is good or worthwhile

decline -n. the process of becoming smaller, less effective or worse

expensive -adj. costly¹²

apprenticeship -n. a position where a person is taught a trade and serves as an assistant to an established tradesman

bachelor's degree -n. a degree given by a college or university for completing a course of study that usually takes four years

indoctrination -n. a process that conditions people to believe certain ideas

bias -n. the condition of being influence more by one set of ideas than another

more bang for your buck -idiom doing something that gives the greatest effect at the lowest cost

spark -n. a small amount of fire or electricity that can start a fire

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

11 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。