Has the value of a college degree gone up this rapidly? No. The price has gone up because of almost unlimited demand versus limited supply. In other words, the price has gone up because people are willing to pay more.
Barone makes the point that many people are going to college who shouldn't, who won't much benefit from a degree in Ethnic Studies, Communications or Sociology. Universities know this and have created a reward structure for faculty that relies on being popular with students.
Unsurprisingly, the need to be popular leads to the A being the most frequently given grade on many campuses. Students with lots of As tend to stay around and keep paying tuition, but their grade transcripts become essentially meaningless as indicators of ability and performance.
