College Students are “Academically Adrift”

It’s official. Students who go to college don’t actually get more knowledge.

The new book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa reveals that students are graduating from college knowing little more than what they came in with. According to the New York Times, 45% of students showed little to no improvement in written communication, critical thinking or analytical skills.

The data for this book was gathered from 2300 students at 24 different universities, which the authors claim are representative of schools across the country.

Interestingly, Death and Taxes Magazine adds that the students who participated in their study ended up graduating with an average 3.2 GPA. These students can rest assured though because apparently the average 0.8 points they came up short of a coveted 4.0 GPA means absolutely nothing in terms of what they really know.