We Don’t Need More Data - We Need Better Grads

Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Sign up, and get your own copy of the news that matters sent to your inbox every week. Sign up for the On EdTech newsletter. Interested in additional analysis? Upgrade to the On EdTech+ newsletter.

In a recent post, Jay Akridge & David Hummels revisit some of their arguments about the state of the job market for new grads, and what they believe higher education should be doing about it. I’ve become a fan of their coverage of the issue, especially their contribution to debunking claims that AI is to blame for current problems in the job market.

In this latest post, they return to a series they wrote in late 2024 about the roles universities, employers, and students can each play in better preparing graduates for the world of work. Their argument is that many readers missed those posts, and in my case, they’re right.

But while I’ve found a lot to admire in their coverage of the job market, I have serious problems with their prescriptions for how we should address it and think their solutions are unlikely to be effective. More importantly, I think the recommendations reflect a way of thinking that is all too typical in higher education: an over-reliance on “more data” as the answer and an approach that emphasizes slow cultural change rather than taking action. Until we address these habits of thought, we can’t address the challenges in front of us in any number of areas, including the employment problem.

For that reason, I want to explore their argument in detail and spell out why I think this thinking is problematic.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.