bq. 45 percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” during the first two years of college.
bq. 36 percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” over four years of college.
bq. Those students who do show improvements tend to show only modest improvements. Students improved on average only 0.18 standard deviations over the first two years of college and 0.47 over four years. What this means is that a student who entered college in the 50th percentile of students in his or her cohort would move up to the 68th percentile four years later — but that’s the 68th percentile of a new group of freshmen who haven’t experienced any college learning.
Inside Higher Ed “summarizes”:http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/18/study_finds_large_numbers_of_college_students_don_t_learn_much the findings of the book “Academically Adrift”:http://www.amazon.com/Academically-Adrift-Limited-Learning-Campuses/dp/0226028569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295383145&sr=8-1, by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. Their explanation?
bq. The main culprit for lack of academic progress of students, according to the authors, is a lack of rigor.