Don't Make Education Reform about Wages for College Degree Holders

It's not news that education reformers from Bill Gates to Arne Duncan are committed to sending more kids to college and producing more bachelor degree holders. A more educated population is never a bad idea, so this plan is tough to criticize. However, the problem is we're asking the wrong question and posing the wrong solution. In a recent report from the Pew Research Center, the findings focus on key reasons to go to college. But the data shows this is a wage issue at heart - an issue that didn't exist when the middle class was built in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Pursuing college degrees simply for higher wages is not sound policy. And assuming that more college degree holders will improve quality of life and strength of the economy is flawed as well.