I don't know about college, but I do know for a fact (being the father of a high school junior) that high school math is now the equivalent of what grade school

I don't know about college, but I do know for a fact (being the father of a high school junior) that high school math is now the equivalent of what grade school math was when I was growing up. So kids going into college are far less prepared than they were a generation ago. Maybe the engineering programs in college pick them back up to where they need to be, I've been out of the undergrad world for many years.