Fixing Unbroken Things

If ever there was a bad idea, this is it. Let's go ahead and open the door to letting those Accountability fools mess with our college and university system. I know, I know: that's not what the article is really about, but if you've been paying attention to this story today, you know that one of the commission's other recommendations is to introduce testing for college students to make sure "parents are getting their money's worth." That's douche-bag for "No Frat Boy Left behind." The one part of our national education system that is working perfectly well and needs no federally-mandated reforms is higher education. That Spellings and those other fascists at the Department of Education would even think of getting their grubby, test-stained hands on colleges and universities is absolutely disgusting.

You can read a more in-depth view from behind enemy lines here.

Now look: I would be among the first to tell you -- particularly if I've been drinking or if you catch me on a Tuesday or Thursday night -- that the standard of education at some public universities I know is very low indeed, but inasmuch as testing has not succeeded in improving the K-12 system, it must necessarily fail at improving places like our illustrious local university. And besides, I think that G$, one of my good friends from elementary school, one of my former undergrad cousins, and my doctoral candidate cousin would say that the educations they received at this, this, this, and this public university was anything less than very fine. And I don't think I sound like too much of a ring-banger when I say that, while I have some bones to pick with the regents in general, there is no need to reform the high degree of educational excellence demanded, given, and produced by some moderately elite private colleges I know.

It's simple: the higher education system in the United States is, collectively, arguably the finest such system in the world. It is most certainly not broken. Why does anybody feel the need to fix it?