There was a mix-up of cause and effect, to some degree. Since early colleges were limited to a very small percentage of the population who tended to have stron

There was a mix-up of cause and effect, to some degree. Since early colleges were limited to a very small percentage of the population who tended to have strong parental guidance and even hired tutors, the average academic ability of college graduates was much higher than non-college graduates. The response was that, then, if everyone had a college degree, everyone would be so able. The problem then is twofold: First, people without a strong primary education background went to college, forcing colleges to either lower standards and/or spend time remediating (financial pressure from governments to tie funding to graduation rates sure didn't help to preserve high standards). Second, the presence of a college degree as an indicator of an unusually high level of prior primary education and academic ability disappeared since so many people have a college degree.