My father was the only person in his family to attend college, and he dropped out after but one year. This, largely because he took too seriously the disparagement of a college education laid on him by the mother of the woman he would marry. My mother, for her part, was allowed to attend only two years of high school, because her father thought all a girl needed to know was how to cook and sew. All he would allow for his daughter was Girls Technical School until she could cook and sew. Then she had to find a job and pay room and board until she married.

I regularly thought of my undereducated parents as I watched my students walk across college platforms and receive their degrees. I thought of how much better educated they were. The antecedent of the personal pronoun “they” is my parents, not my students.

The more schooling American youth have received, the less educated they have become.

In the jargon of academic theorists, this is “counterintuitive.” In other words: this isn’t what you would expect or it doesn’t make sense. It might not even be fact, but on-going research is beginning to look this way. Because of the direction studies are taking us and almost despite where they may lead, this much is certain. We must take a long, hard look at what a college education actually accomplishes and, therefore, what a college education means. From such conclusions we may need to revise what we expect from a college education.

Among the several studies that are investigating the matter, both theoretically and empirically, is one at the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, which is an interdisciplinary, independent research center at Stanford University. This particular study is directed by Professor Norman H. Nie, the Institute’s director and research professor of political science. Nie is also professor emeritus of political science at the University of Chicago, and the present research continues what he had already published in “Education and Democratic Citizenship in America” (1997) and “The Changing American Voter” (1976).

Thus far in the research (restrained from final conclusions until they have broadened the scope), they have investigated largely verbal ability. They started here, because it is generally agreed that verbal ability is the best single indication of general intelligence and social effectiveness as well as educational achievement. “Most important for our purposes, verbal ability is more directly related to education than many of the life outcomes we mentioned; it is part of the curriculum as well as a crucial tool for acquiring education.”

They observe that during the 20th century, there was “an unprecedented expansion in the levels of educational attainment.” Those born between 1910 and 1914 received a little more than 10 years of education. However, those born between 1970 and 1974 received 14 years of education. In just 60 years, the average American went from being a high school dropout to having two years of college—“a remarkable increase.”

Despite the amount of education, education achievements have plummeted, at least as measured by verbal ability.

Their findings are these: “increased education does not appear to cause an increase in verbal ability.” Also: “But our research shows that previous investments in expanding education have not resulted in improvement in American adults’ verbal abilities.” Finally: “The lack of change in the average vocabulary score of Americans, despite the large increase in the population’s average years of schooling, is an intriguing finding.”

My observation of what has happened in the last century is this. Apart from the introduction of new technological subjects, the average elementary school graduate then was as well educated as today’s average high school graduate.

The average high school graduate 100 years ago had achieved about as much as today’s average college graduate. Fewer college graduates then required the graduate schools found necessary today.

What has happened? We have confused schooling with education. We have trusted increased quantity and sacrificed quality of education. We presume a graduate is educated.

We need to be not as worried about what schools we get our kids into and be more concerned about what the schools get into their heads. Our goal needs to be not graduation, but education.