The quality of one’s college education is coming under fire from a new survey that says more than half of college students nearing graduation lack the skills to perform tasks like understanding the arguments of newspaper editorials, such as this one.
   The study goes further and states that 75 percent of two-year college students cannot handle complex, but common, math and literacy tasks.
   Many cannot calculate the amount of money to leave as a tip in a restaurant. A common way people determine the amount is tax times two, not science by any means.
   Other college students, the study says, cannot determine the best credit card offers and make a selection, showing a lack of comprehension of the offer.
   Every college student faces these situations in daily life. One would be hard pressed to find a student who has not received some sort of credit card offer in the mail saying he has been pre-approved for a platinum Visa card.
   And what college student has not eaten out at a restaurant? That target would be harder to find in the college haystack.
   Furthermore, students were unable to show comprehension of prose and other stories and documents.
   The survey did have some good news though a grain of salt is needed.
   College students have a better average of literacy than other adults throughout the nation. However, the spectrum of people studied also had less than a college education.
   Students could demonstrate exceptional skills in utilizing critical reading and context clues, meaning they could find and use information from various documents.
   An informal survey conducted on msnbc.com showed 72 percent of people who voted said they were not surprised by the results of the study, saying students do not learn as many practical skills as they need to complete such tasks.
   The blame for this lack of knowledge falls on no one individual institution, but rather on everyone involved with the education of today’s youth.
   The skills college students lack are skills often learned at earlier stages of development, as in high school or even elementary school. The problem starts in first grade, and when the education system allows students to graduate without these basic skills, the system does a disservice to the student.
   The same outlook can be held with community colleges and universities. When they let students move on without instilling all the knowledge they need, they too are doing a disservice to the student. The only difference is the student is out more money for that disservice.
   Blame could also fall onto parents. It is their duty to guide their children and help them with their education. A person cannot learn financial responsibility if mom and dad take care of his finances.
   Educational institutions and parents need to take a deeper look into the education these students receive and mold the curriculum to fit society’s needs. Students must be given every possible tool to succeed in today’s world, and schools and parents need to remember that.