Numbers Tell the Story
Grade Breakdown by Region
West
Midwest
South
Northeast
There are "A"-rated schools in every region of the country. So it’s definitely possible to find a school with a rigorous general education program close to home. The South has the strongest-performing institutions in general, with more than half of the colleges and universities surveyed receiving an "A" or a "B" grade. Families in the rest of the country, where almost half of schools receive a "D" or "F," are particularly well-served by reviewing curricula carefully at the institutions they’re considering.
Grade Breakdown
The search for the right college can be overwhelming. There is one thing other rankings won't tell you: which universities are making sure their students learn what they need to know. This free resource grades colleges and universities across the country on their requirements in seven core areas of knowledge. 22 schools earned an "A" this year--compared to well over 400 that earned a "D" or an "F".
Subject Breakdown
At most universities, general education takes up one-quarter to one-third of a student’s program of study. So it’s not hard for students in most programs to complete courses in the seven priority content areas WWTL® recommends. While most universities require students to take courses in composition and the natural sciences, curricular gaps are common everywhere else. Over half of the schools surveyed require students to take a mathematics course requiring college-level algebra or above. The number of colleges requiring students to study literature has steadily declined in recent years. Under one eighth require intermediate-level foreign language, and only 4% require economics. Particularly alarming, given our deteriorating public discourse, is how few schools require a foundational course in U.S. government or history.
Public vs. Private Grade Breakdown
Expensive private institutions are just as likely to receive failing grades in our assessment as public institutions. One finds a similar proportion of "A" and "B"–rated schools in both worlds. (In the B-range, one finds a slightly higher proportion of publics.) We observe the most significant curricular differences in literature and civics requirements, with private schools being much more likely to require a Literature course, and public schools being much more likely to require a U.S. Government or History course.