McClatchy Washington Bureau - Jan. 18, 2011
Sara Rimer, The Hechinger Report
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949/study-many-college-students-not.html

NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher-order_thinking ), complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.

Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn't determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.