One of my life-long pet peeves is the American insistence that every clod who stumbles out of high school with a B average be sent on to a taxpayer-subsidized college career. This policy drives up the costs of higher ed for students who really want an education, half the kids drop out anyway (but keep their costly student loans) and the value of every college degree drops by a significant percentage.

Now comes news of a high school teacher who wants to force all seniors to apply to college, whether or not they want to go. “More options are better than less options,” said Anthony Massaro, the principal of South Plainfield (NJ) High School.

They certainly are, Mr. Massaro. They’re even better than “fewer” options.

Does anyone know if New Jersey has a basic English requirement like the one in Massachusetts?