And yet for all its sloppiness, the present arrangement seems preferable to what Mr. Murray proposes: a vast system of certification exams whereby instead of going to college and sitting through courses in the history of rock ’n’ roll or the comic book, you bone up on your chosen profession — law, accounting, social work, whatever — and pass a test. This would surely give rise to a cram-school industry that would dwarf even the current SAT-prep business and that, like the SAT, would unfairly reward the well off and those savvy enough to game the system.〔(Just Leave Them Behind )〕

Of course ability varies and half the children are below average. Indeed, we should not set the college degree as our gold standard for success in life. We should teach people how to better make a living and to respect the work of the craftsmen and technicians among us. We should not stigmatize those Mr. Murray calls the "forgotten half." But neither should we abandon our efforts to provide each of our citizens with an opportunity to have the education that is required to keep us all watchful, wakeful protectors of our personal and political freedoms.