She eventually passed the high school equivalency test and began a long career as a secretary and administrative assistant. But in the middle of the 1990s, the growing American obsession with higher education caught up with her. Each year, more Americans are deciding to sacrifice years of their lives and thousands of dollars to get a college degree, a trend increasingly woven into the nation's social, cultural, economic and political life. Teenagers in states such as Virginia will soon be required to pass college preparatory course tests to receive their diplomas even if they have no intention of going to college. Counselors and parents regularly remind students of the growing gap between the earnings of college graduates and non-graduates.
Most experts believe so.
Even plumbers and cabdrivers will find their lives enriched by a college education, they say. What's more, some of the students who now go to college are woefully unprepared, as reflected in the remedial education some institutions provide. In Maryland, for instance, more than a third of the high school graduates need remedial math when they reach college, and a quarter need remedial reading. Indeed, many educators worry that college will be dumbed down to make certain everyone gets in. A lot of people get a 'proper high school education' in college, having received an elementary education in high school.