《经济学家说课讲解.doc

Good is good, but better carries it.精益求精，善益求善。经济学家-TEXT1RebuildingtheAmericandreammachineJan19th2006|NEWYORKFromTheEconomistprinteditionFORAmerica'scolleges,Januaryisamonthofreckoning.MostapplicationsforthenextacademicyearbeginningintheautumnhavetobemadebytheendofDecember,soauniversity'spopularityisputtoanobjectivestandard:howmanypeoplewanttoattend.OneofthemoreunlikelyofficestohavebeenfloodedwithmailisthatoftheCityUniversityofNewYork(CUNY),apubliccollegethatlacks,amongotherthings,afamoussportsteam,bucoliccampusesandraucousparties(itdoesn'tevenhavedorms),and,untilrecently,academiccredibility.AprimarydrawatCUNYisaprogrammeforparticularlycleverstudents,launchedin2001.Some1,100ofthe60,000studentsatCUNY'sfivetopschoolsreceiveararethinginthecostlyworldofAmericancolleges:freeeducation.ThoseacceptedbyCUNY'shonoursprogrammepaynotuitionfees;insteadtheyreceiveastipendof$7,500(tohelpwithgeneralexpenses)andalaptopcomputer.Applicationsforearlyadmissionsintonextyear'sprogrammeareup70%.Admissionhasnothingtodowithbeinganathlete,orachildofanalumnus,orhavinganinfluentialsponsor,orbeingamemberofaparticularlyaggrievedethnicgroupcriteriathatareincreasinglyimportantatAmerica'selitecolleges.Mostofthestudentswhoapplytothehonoursprogrammecomefromrelativelypoorfamilies,manyofthemimmigrantones.AllthatCUNYdemandsisthatthesestudentsbediligentandclever.Lastyear,theaveragestandardisedtestscoreofthisgroupwasinthetop7%inthecountry.AmongtherestofCUNY'sstudentsaveragesarelower,buttheyarenowjustbreakingintothetopthird(comparedwiththebottomthirdin1997).CUNYdoesnotappearalongsideHarvardandStanfordonlistsofAmerica'stopcolleges,butitsrecenttransformationoffersaneatparableofmeritocracyrevisited.Untilthe1960s,agoodcasecouldbemadethatthebestdealinAmericantertiaryeducationwastobefoundnotinCambridgeorPaloAlto,butinHarlem,atasmallpublicschoolcalledCityCollege,thecoreofCUNY.America'sfirstfreemunicipaluniversity,foundedin1847,offereditsservicestoeveryonebrightenoughtomeetitsgruellingstandards.City'sgoldeneracameinthelastcentury,whenAmerica'sbestknowncollegesrestrictedthenumberofJewishstudentstheywouldadmitatexactlythetimewhenNewYorkwasteemingwiththebrightchildrenofpoorJewishimmigrants.In1933-54CityproducedninefutureNobellaureates,includingthe2005winnerforeconomics,RobertAumann(whograduatedin1950);Hunter,itsaffiliatedformerwomen'scollege,producedtwo,andasisterbranchinBrooklynproducedone.CityeducatedFelixFrankfurter,apivotalfigureontheSupremeCourt(classof1902),IraGershwin(1918),JonasSalk,theinventorofthepoliovaccine(1934)andRobertKahn,anarchitectoftheinternet(1960).Aleft-wingplaceinthe1930sand1940s,Cityspawnedmanyoftheneo-conservativeintellectualswhowouldlaterswingtotheright,suchasIrvingKristol(classof1940,extra-curricularactivity:anti-warclub),DanielBellandNathanGlazer.Whatwentwrong?Putsimply,Citydroppeditsstandards.Itwaspartlytodowithdemography,partlytodowithearnestmuddleheadedness.Inthe1960s,universitiesacrossthecountryfacedintensepressuretoadmitmoreminoritystudents.AlthoughCitywasopentoallraces,onlyasmallnumberofblackandHispanicstudentspassedthestricttests(includingafuturesecretaryofstate,ColinPowell).That,criticsdecided,couldnotbesquaredwithCity'smissionto“serveallthecitizensofNewYork”.Atfirstthestandardsweretweaked,butthiswasnotenough,andin1969massivestudentprotestsshutdownCity'scampusfortwoweeks.Facedwithupheaval,Cityscrappeditsadmissionsstandardsaltogether.By1970,almostanystudentwhograduatedfromNewYork'shighschoolscouldattend.Thequalityofeducationcollapsed.Atfirst,withnobarriertoentry,enrolmentclimbed,butin1976thecityofNewYork,whichwasthenineffectbankrupt,forcedCUNYtoimposetuitionfees.Aneraoffreeeducationwasover,andauniversitywhichhadonceservedsuchadistinctpurposejoinedthemuddleofAmerica'slower-endeducation.By1997,sevenoutoftenfirst-yearstudentsintheCUNYsystemwerefailingatleastoneremedialtestinreading,writingormaths(meaningthattheyhadnotlearntittohigh-schoolstandard).Areportcommissionedbythecityin1999concludedthat“CentraltoCUNY'shistoricmissionisacommitmenttoprovidebroadaccess,butitsstudents'highdrop-outratesandlowgraduationratesraisethequestion:Accesstowhat?”Usingthereportasammunition,profoundreformswerepushedthroughbyNewYork'sthenmayor,RudolphGiuliani,andanotheralumnus,HermanBadillo(1951),America'sfirstPuertoRicancongressman.AnewheadofCUNYwasappointed.MatthewGoldstein,amathematician(1963),hasshiftedthefocusbacktowardshigherstandardsamidconsiderablecontroversy.Forinstance,by2001,allofCUNY's11“senior”colleges(ie,onesthatofferfullfour-yearcourses)hadstoppedofferingremedialeducation.Thispromptedhowlsfromtheteachingfaculty,whosaiditwould“createaghetto-likeseparationbetweenlevelsofcolleges”,keepingblackandHispanicstudentsoutofthebestschools.Infact,theracialcompositionoftheseniorschools,monitoredobsessivelybycritics,hasremainedlargelyunchanged:oneinfourstudentsattheseniorcollegesisblack,oneinfiveisLatino.AthirdhavetiestoPuertoRico,Jamaica,ChinaandtheDominicanRepublic.Admissionsstandardshavebeenraised.StudentsapplyingtoCUNY'sseniorcollegesnowneedrespectablescoresoneitheranational,stateorCUNYtest,andtheadmissionscriteriaforthehonoursprogrammearethetoughestintheuniversity'shistory.ContrarytowhatMrGoldstein'scriticspredicted,higherstandardshaveattractedmorestudents,notfewer:thisyear,enrolmentatCUNYisatarecordhigh.TherearealsoanecdotalsignsthatCUNYisonceagainpickingupbrightlocals,especiallyinscience.OneadvancedbiologyclassatCitynowhastwiceasmanystudentsasitdidinthelate1990s.Lastyear,twostudents,bothbornintheSovietUnion,wonRhodesscholarships,andaBronxnativewhowonthemuchsought-afterIntelSciencePrizeisnowinthehonoursprogramme.AllthisshouldnotimplythatCUNYisoutofthewoods.Muchofitlooksrundown.CUNY'sannualbudgetof$1.7billionhasstayedlargelyunchanged,evenasstudentnumbershaverisen.WithNewYorkCity'sfinancesstillprecarious,cityandstatesupportfortheuniversityhasfallenbymorethanone-thirdsince1991inrealterms.Ithas,however,beguntobringinprivatemoney.Anewjournalismschoolwillopenintheautumn,helpedbya$4mgrantfromtheSulzbergerfamily,whocontroltheNewYorkTimes,andledbyBusinessWeek'sformereditor,SteveShepard(classof1961).Effortstoraisea$1.2billionendowmenthavepassedthehalf-waymark,helpedby(formerlyestranged)alumni.Intel'sformerchairman,AndrewGrove,whograduatedfromCityin1960asapennilessHungarianimmigrant,donated$26m(about30%ofCity'soperatingbudget)totheengineeringschool,callinghisalmamater“averitableAmericandreammachine”.TherearebroaderlessonstodrawfromCUNY,especiallytodowithcreatingopportunitiesinhighereducationforthepoor.Currently,only3%ofthestudentsinAmerica'stopcollegescomefromfamiliesinthelowestincomequartileandonly10%fromthebottomhalf,accordingtoastudybyAnthonyCarnevaleandStephenRosefortheCenturyFoundation.Moststudentsarerelativelywell-off,andtheirnumbersincludeplentyofracialminoritieswhoreceivepreferentialstatusindependentoftheireconomiccircumstances.Forallitsimperfections,CUNY'smodeloflowtuitionfeesandhighstandardsoffersadifferentapproach.Anditsrecenthistorymayhelptodispelthemyththathighacademicstandardsdeterstudentsanddonors.“Elitism”,MrGoldsteincontends,“isnotadirtyword.”-