College Popularity on the Rise; College Access on the Decline

Sobering education news from PPI (emphasis by Left is Right):

A new report from the Education Commission of the States sounds a warning about decreasing college access in the United States. Demographics are likely to set the prospective pool of college attendees soaring in the decade to come. At the same time, however, state budget crunches are reducing funding for postsecondary education, and economic downturns are reducing families' resources for education as well. A potential result is expanding what the report calls, "the college participation gap" as economic obstacles deny college access to an increasing number of potential students who seek it. In 10 years, the report notes, the United States has fallen from first among the developed nations in access to college to 13th. The economic consequences, both at the individual level and in terms of decreased global competitiveness in the knowledge economy, are significant. The distributional consequences are also troubling, since students lacking access to college are disproportionately poor and minority. The issues include K-12 preparation and higher education finance. Among other issues, high loan burdens prevent some students from attending college, particularly more costly and selective schools. Harvard and Princeton have both tried to address this by replacing loans with grants for the most needy students.

So the poor and minorites continue to get the shaft. Yep, No Child Left Behind, as long as they have $.