Recent analyses argue that the historical IQ advantage among university students has largely disappeared as higher education expanded, meaning today's student body has average measured cognitive scores even as credential returns and selection effects persist. If true, policy messages that assume college students are substantially more intellectually capable than the general population need rethinking — from admissions to pedagogical design.
— This reframes debates about who higher education serves, the validity of meritocratic selection claims, and how resources and teaching should be targeted across the student population.
Arnold Kling
2026.09.30
100% relevant
Bub Uttl et al. paper cited in the article that traces the '115–130' belief to mid‑20th‑century samples and reports contemporary university students' IQ around population mean.
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