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Title: Point: Public College Tuition Should be Free, Just Like High School. By: Kingsley,
D. S., Vance, Noelle, Points of View: Free College Tuition, 3/1/2016

Database: Points of View Reference Center

Point: Public College Tuition Should be Free, Just Like High School

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Thesis: In today's society, a bachelor's degree is the equivalent of a
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high school degree in earlier generations; high school is insufcient
preparation for work life. The government should provide free public
education for 16 years.

Summary: Public education needs to continue through the equivalent of

16th grade in order to prepare Americans for jobs in the new information
economy. As the nature of work in America changes, the public
education system needs to be extended. A century ago, when most Free College Tuition: An
Americans worked on farms, an 8th grade education was sufcient; Overview.
today, the country needs to send most students to school for 16 years.

A little more than a century ago, in 1900, just 10% of Americans age 14-
17 attended high school; only 8% graduated. The reason that helps
explain the 10% attendance: the majority of Americans lived and worked
on farms.
Free College Education
is Poorly Matched with
It was not until the mid-1920s that more people worked in industry or
the Needs of the
commerce than in agriculture. These new jobs required a higher order of Students or the
literacy than farm work, and the population changed accordingly. By the Economy.
mid- 1940s, 70% of Americans attended high school.

In the 21st century, the U.S. labor market can be viewed as an

information economy --loosely dened as an economy in which mental
activity is in greater demand than physical activity--and this requires
greater literacy, mathematics and critical-thinking skills. Additionally, the
United States has outsourced a signicant number of manufacturing jobs Free College Tuition:
Guide to Critical
to lower-paid overseas locations, leaving many American manufacturer Analysis.
workers unemployed and lacking in appropriate skills to attain jobs in the
information workplace.
At the same time, the character of world competition has changed
dramatically. Previously, there was a pattern of industrial innovation
which began in countries like the United States, Britain, and Germany.
Better Yet, No Tuition.
However, in the era of information economies, this pattern has shifted.
Today, while much technical innovation may still be centered in places
ON THE MONEY TRAIL.
such as California's Silicon Valley, information workers are plentiful in
developing countries like India (where many people speak English,
thanks to India's history as a British colony). The United States (along
with Western Europe) faces a new set of economic challenges, including
Choose a Topic.
being able to supply sufcient numbers of well-trained information
workers. Increasingly, the evolved labor market requires 16 years of
Evaluate a Website.
schooling, rather than the traditional 12 (or, before that, eight).

It was not always the case that local government provided schooling for Write a Topic Sentence.

most children through the 12th grade. That changed over time in
response to the need of the economy for better-educated, better-trained How To Understand the
Bias of a Publication
workers. Government responded with more high schools, still free.

While education remains a value unto itself, it can also be viewed as a

national investment in the future. This is a signicant investment --the
CURRICULUM
United States spends roughly $536 billion, or just under $9,000 per STANDARDS--U.S.
student, educating students through the 12th grade--on a per capita
basis ahead of most, but behind Switzerland and Norway. (Source: U.S.
Department of Education).

We have now arrived at a stage in the country's economic development where 12 years of education
is not sufcient. The world has grown sufciently complex that 16 years of education--once viewed as
a luxury affordable by only a tiny elite--have become standard preparation for the type of jobs that are
growing in number, such as high tech computer programming jobs, rather than those that are
shrinking in number.

Students clearly recognize the value of more than 12 years of schooling. More than 90% of high
school students expect to at least start college; 70% expect to earn a degree.

Sixteen years of schooling is no longer a privilege for the elite as it once may have been; it is a vital
necessity for individuals and for the society, and the United States needs to recognize this and start
providing publicly funded education for 16 years. This is not a particularly radical idea; 25 states
already have, or are in the process of implementing, a universal preschool-grade 16 public education
program. In some cases, states are introducing the idea gradually, starting with free junior college. But
the important fact is that the program is beginning; our future requires that it become universal.

Bibliography
Books

Bove, Alexander. "Nearly Free Tuition" Penguin:1988.

Periodicals

"Annual Tuition And Fees At Colleges And Universities, 2012-13." Chronicle Of Higher Education
59.10 (2012): A31-A41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=82947630.

"RELIEF FROM CRUSHING STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS." FDCH Regulatory Intelligence

Database. 2/15/2010. Points of View Reference Center. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.Aspx?
direct=true&db=pwh&AN=32W4163100729&site=pov-live.

"Making College Pay For Tuition Hikes." Morning Edition (NPR). 1/17/2011. Newspaper Source.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.Aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=6XN201101171110&site=ehost-live.

"Education Secretary Addresses Rising College Costs." Weekend All Things Considered (NPR).
3/13/2010. Newspaper Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.Aspx?
direct=true&db=nfh&AN=6XN201003131901&site=ehost-live.

Lunau, Kate. "GET ME A JOB -- OR GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK." Maclean's. 124.8 (03/07/2011).
52-54. Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.Aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=58789597&site=ehost-live.

Brandon, Emily. "Better Yet, No Tuition." U.S. News & World Report 141.2 (18 Sep. 2006): 74.

Clark, Kim. "The Markdown at Harvard." U.S. News & World Report 142.0 (24 Dec. 2007): 66.

Doyle, William R. "The Politics Of Public College Tuition And State Financial Aid." Journal Of Higher
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Fischer, Kent. "Some Dallas grads to get full UNT scholarships with new program." Dallas Morning
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Free Degrees to Fly, Economist, 2/26/2005, Vol. 374 Issue 8415, p. 67.

GAO Reports. HIGHER EDUCATION: Tuition Continues to Rise, but Patterns Vary by Institution Type,
Enrollment, and Educational Expenditures. (21 Dec. 2007): i. Points of View Reference Center.
EBSCO. 29 Oct. 2008 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=pwh&AN=29405479&site=pov-live.

GRAHAM, BOB, SENATOR.. "CONGRESS ENACTS GRAHAM PLAN TO MAKE PREPAID TUITION
TAX-FREE." FDCH Press Releases Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. 29 Oct. 2008
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HANSON, JESSICA, STUDENT, andFLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY. "COLLEGE COSTS CRISIS

REPORT." FDCH Congressional Testimony Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. 29 Oct. 2008
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Hillman, Nicholas. "Tuition Discounting For Revenue Management." Research In Higher Education
53.3 (2012): 263-281. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
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Kantrowitz, Barbara. "College, Free of Charge." Newsweek 142.0 (17 Nov. 2003): 51.
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Martinez, Alison P. "Colorado High Schools Keep Controversial Free Tuition Programs." Community
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MICHELE NORRIS. "Interview: Bob Herman discusses the student lawsuit against the University of
Missouri for not providing in-state students with a free education." All Things Considered (NPR) Points
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Minding About the Gap, Economist, 6/11/2005, Vol. 375 Issue 8430, p/ 32.

"Plan Would Make Tuition Free At Ore. Colleges." Community College Week 25.25 (2013): 5.
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"Mont. CC Offering Free Tuition To Some Students." Community College Week 25.11 (2013): 5.
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Rebuilding the American Dream Machine, Economist, 1/21/2006, Vol. 378 Issue 8461, p. 29.

Taibbi, Matt. "The College Loan Scandal." Rolling Stone 1190 (2013): 34-39. Academic Search
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Whitney Stewart. "Free tuition helps college build skilled work force." Washington Times, The (DC. 06
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Websites

U.S. Department of Education, Facts About Education

http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/10facts/edlite- chart.html

These essays and any opinions, information or representations contained therein are the creation of
the particular author and do not necessarily reect the opinion of EBSCO Information Services.

~~~~~~~~

By D. S. Kingsley

Co-Author: Noelle Vance

Noelle Vance has an M.A. English, Colorado State University, a B.S. Education, Western Illinois
University, and a B.A. English, University of Michigan. Vance has taught a variety of university-level
composition and English as a second language courses, as well as Adult Basic Education and ESL
Courses.

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