The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us

Paul Tough gets real about higher education in the US.

I found this book fascinating. Paul Tough's signature interlinking of academic study findings with journalism's personal stories really works for me. A lot of what he calls out as indisputable findings here are results that I had understood to still be in question (like that top tier institutions really do do much better for their graduates than their high-mid-tier competitors -- take that, Jay Mathews! -- and that the kids who are advantaged by standardized tests tend to be whiter, richer, more male, and less likely to do well in college than the equal sized group of kids who are disadvantaged by their test scores). Lots of chew on here; I'll be recommending it to all my educator show more friends and anyone else interested in social mobility and in education. show less

Paul Tough uses personal stories to illustrate the challenges facing many students before, during, and after their college experience. I found the data surrounding standardized tests extremely interesting because of the large population of students with excellent high school grades that do poorly on the SAT or ACT. This group is disproportionately women, students of color, from poorer backgrounds. This has many implications for colleges insisting that high school GPA is not a good indicator of success. I will keep this book in the back of my mind throughout my career as a professor.

I’m not going to finish this one. Not because it isn’t worth reading, it absolutely is. But for me, it is a bit too personal. My own story tracks many of the kids he profiles. And reading about how our college system is so unfair is too depressing for me to read right now.

Impressed by Tara Westover's book, "Educated", I checked her Twitter account shortly after she'd posted a recommendation for this book, so I checked it out from Overdrive. Yep! I liked it too!!!

2nd listen