I recently read The Case Against Education. It's very interesting, even if you don't buy the conclusion. From the book:
> The Good Student, by definition, fits the profile of a typical B.A. who did not continue on to graduate or professional school. Now let’s define three more ability archetypes: the Excellent Student, the Fair Student, and the Poor Student. The Excellent Student fits the profile of the typical master’s degree holder. The Fair Student fits the profile of the typical high school graduate who does not try college. The Poor Student fits the profile of the typical high school dropout. Ideally, to repeat, “fits the profile” is all-inclusive, covering cognitive ability, character, background, and every other trait. In terms of measured cognitive ability, Excellent Students are around the 82nd percentile, Good Students the 73rd, Fair Students the 41st, and Poor Students the 24th.
> Results closely match common sense. High school is lucrative for all four archetypes. Even Poor Students can reasonably expect the resources they invest in high school to out-perform high-yield bonds. College, in contrast, is a solid deal only for Excellent and Good Students. Largely owing to their high failure rate, Fair Students who start college should foresee a low 2.3% return on their investment. For Poor Students, it’s a paltry 1%.
