Comments on: The Libertarian’s Dilemma, Cont’d http://www.quickanded.com/2009/07/libertarians-dilemma-contd.html The Quick and the Ed is an education blog published by Education Sector, an independent think tank in Washington D.C. The Quick and the Ed offers in-depth analysis on the latest in education policy and research. Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:02:46 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 hourly 1 By: Parentalcation http://www.quickanded.com/2009/07/libertarians-dilemma-contd.html/comment-page-1#comment-1479 Parentalcation Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:31:21 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/2009/07/the-libertarians-dilemma-contd.html#comment-1479 The biggest problem with the libertarian point of view is that even if a free market approach were to work (which as you point out would require the government to set/require proper ratings/data/methods of comparison), it would take decades for the supply to adjust to the demand. Meanwhile, inequality would skyrocket, and our economy would also most likely sufferer immensely. The biggest problem with the libertarian point of view is that even if a free market approach were to work (which as you point out would require the government to set/require proper ratings/data/methods of comparison), it would take decades for the supply to adjust to the demand. Meanwhile, inequality would skyrocket, and our economy would also most likely sufferer immensely.

]]> By: FuzzyFace http://www.quickanded.com/2009/07/libertarians-dilemma-contd.html/comment-page-1#comment-1477 FuzzyFace Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:03:45 +0000 http://www.quickanded.com/wordpress/2009/07/the-libertarians-dilemma-contd.html#comment-1477 Yes, exactly! And this applies to many other aspects of the economy, although higher education probably represents the worst, insofar as out-of-control spending is concerned. The government's role should be <i>to guarantee the integrity of the free market</i>, which means ensuring that information flows freely (and that obstacles to market entry are as minimal as possible). <br /><br />The trickiest part may well be how to determine <i>what</i> information is relevant. Ideally, prospective students and their parents should be able to learn which colleges and universities would provide the greatest chance of success to students with a particular learning profile: SAT/ACT scores, learning style, areas of interest, and the like. Figuring out what kinds of information to measure and how to measure it ought to be worth several research papers all by themselves, BTW. <br /><br />I suspect that, beyond the sheer self-interest question, a major reason that universities push the current prestige qualities is simply because <i>they are easy to measure</i>. It is much easier to document spending per student, and sizes of libraries, than to show what long-term successes incoming students might reasonably expect. Yes, exactly! And this applies to many other aspects of the economy, although higher education probably represents the worst, insofar as out-of-control spending is concerned. The government's role should be to guarantee the integrity of the free market, which means ensuring that information flows freely (and that obstacles to market entry are as minimal as possible).

The trickiest part may well be how to determine what information is relevant. Ideally, prospective students and their parents should be able to learn which colleges and universities would provide the greatest chance of success to students with a particular learning profile: SAT/ACT scores, learning style, areas of interest, and the like. Figuring out what kinds of information to measure and how to measure it ought to be worth several research papers all by themselves, BTW.

I suspect that, beyond the sheer self-interest question, a major reason that universities push the current prestige qualities is simply because they are easy to measure. It is much easier to document spending per student, and sizes of libraries, than to show what long-term successes incoming students might reasonably expect.

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