When my babysitter confessed to me that she managed to make through college with a sociology degree without ever writing a 20-page paper, I made a mental note to cross that college off the list for the boys. It probably increased my middle class anxiety another notch, too, about the quality of that tier of colleges.

The lack of rigor at many colleges has been noted in a recent study. (Thanks to everyone who sent me that link.)

The research of more than 2,300 undergraduates found 45 percent of students show no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years.

One problem is that students just aren't asked to do much, according to findings in a new book, "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses." Half of students did not take a single course requiring 20 pages of writing during their prior semester, and one-third did not take a single course requiring even 40 pages of reading per week.

I'm just finishing up four hours of writing and am running out of words. I'll let you all add the commentary.