Signalling

In economics, more precisely in contract theory, signalling (or signaling: see American and British English differences) is the idea that one party (termed the agent) credibly conveys some information about itself to another party (the principal). For example, in Michael Spence's job-market signalling model, (potential) employees send a signal about their ability level to the employer by acquiring certain education credentials. The informational value of the Credential comes from the fact that the employer assumes it is positively correlated with having greater ability. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics)

re College Education see 2011-04-11-CollegeEducationBubble

• also applies to K12 Curriculum. My K-12 memories include thousands of hours studying material I knew I'd never use after the final exam. The three years in Spanish were especially traumatic, but they're only the tip of the signaling iceberg.