US Losing Education Race

The Guardian yesterday reported that "participation in higher education has stagnated and even gone into decline for the first time in the US, a conference in Oxford heard."

Poverty has increased, as has the gap between rich and poor, and the effects have been seen in falling graduation rates at high school, and hence the ability to go on to university ... At the same time, states have been making drastic cuts in their university budgets, pushing more of the costs on to students in fees. Meanwhile, the federal government has been shifting from grants to student loans.

In contrast, higher education enrollment has grown by more than 50% in England over the past two decades and by 72% in France.