Who Wins in a Race to the Bottom?

"It's hard to be the only one sticking to a rule and saying no when others offer a wink, a nudge and a yes. What's intended as some sort of stand on principle comes across as bizarre, snooty and/or arbitrary, even when the principle involved is admirable. I've been there. It's no fun. And it's worse when the folks taking or building shortcuts are praised as innovators when they're really just cheating."

"In a competitive setting, the usual term for that is a race to the bottom. Sticking to principle creates friction, which hampers speed. Those without principles can move more quickly. When first-mover advantage is significant and nobody enforces rules, we can expect those unburdened by conscience to be overrepresented among the winners."

"The part that jumped off the page for me, though, was the categorization of states by the degree to which they've set up rules and systems to ensure quality. Ten states, including my own state of Pennsylvania, are identified as having no relevant state rules at all. Can confirm. And it's both frustrating and dangerous."

"In the absence of meaningful rules and in the presence of a great many struggling, enrollment-driven private colleges, I'm seeing some ... liberties ... being taken that put my college in a tough spot. For example, we've had high schools play colleges off against each other to see who would be the most permissive on instructor credentials. If we stand on the standard that the high school teacher should have the same credentials we'd expect of a"

Parents and peers often treat rule-following as arbitrary when others use winks, nudges, and exceptions. In competitive environments, friction from sticking to principle can slow progress, while those without principles can move faster. When first-mover advantage matters and enforcement is absent, winners can skew toward those unburdened by conscience. A new report on dual enrollment reviews state rules for dual- and concurrent-enrollment programs and recommends steps to improve outcomes. States are categorized by how well they ensure quality, with ten states identified as having no relevant state rules. In that gap, enrollment-driven private colleges and high schools may take liberties, including shopping for permissive instructor credential requirements.

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