The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money

by Bryan Caplan

Technophiles would have a compelling case if education’s sole function were teaching job skills. Online education has clear pedagogical advantages over traditional education. Coursera, Khan Academy, Marginal Revolution University, and their rivals hire the best teachers in the world.47 Students can learn at their own pace—pausing whenever they need to reflect, rewinding whenever they need review, fast forwarding as soon as they master the material. Anyone who’s lost can drop a level without looking like a loser. Anyone’s who’s bored can jump a level without looking like a nerd. Online education is an awesome way to build human capital. Unfortunately, students aren’t hungry for human capital. They’re hungry for signals. Why? Because the labor market mainly pays for credentials acquired, not skills learned. After years of hype, sophisticated technophiles are finally coming to terms with this fact. Kevin Carey of the New America Foundation explains the intellectual evolution: “Three years ago, technology was going to transform higher education. What happened?”