The number of college students has increased one hundred fold.

Measure US college enrollment growth over the period Kurzweil's essay refers to. If no period is given, use the late 19th century (about 1870–1900) to about 2000. The claim is a rough figure. True: the increase was about hundredfold, meaning a ratio of roughly 70x to 150x. Mostly true: the ratio was 50x–70x, or above 150x (growth even larger than stated). Mostly false: the ratio was 20x–50x. False: the ratio was below 20x.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Digest of Education Statistics, 2007 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics · 11 February 2008

   “Total fall enrollment6 | 52,286 | 3 | 115,817 | 3 | 156,756 | 3 | 237,592 | | 355,213 | 3 | 597,880 | | 1,100,737 | | 1,494,203 | | 2,659,021 | | 3,639,847 | | 8,004,660 | | 11,569,899 | | 13,538,560 | | 14,791,224”

2. E2 [PDF] www.ssoar.info The expansion of American higher education GESIS / Colin B. Burke, in K. H. Jarausch (Ed.), The transformation of higher learning 1860-1930 · 1982

   “The sudden increase in total attendance in 1870 (Table 1) is somewhat of an artifact: a result of a shift in the inclusiveness of the category "higher education."”

3. E3 Digest of Education Statistics, 2003 National Center for Education Statistics (U.S. Department of Education) · 2003

   “Total fall enrollment\6\ .....\|\3\ 52,286\|\3\ 115,817\|\3\ 156,756\| 237,592\|\3\ 355,213\| 597,880\| 1,100,737\| 1,494,203\| 2,659,021\| 3,639,847\| 8,004,660\| 11,569,899\| 13,538,560\| 14,791,224\| 15,927,987”

4. E4 The expansion of American higher education Burke, Colin B. (in K. H. Jarausch, ed., The transformation of higher learning 1860-1930, Klett-Cotta) · 1982

   “Enrollments at Colleges and professional schools increased twentysix-fold between 1800 and 1860”

5. E5 120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics · January 1993

   “Between 1899– 1900 and 1909–10, enrollment rose by 50 percent. In the following decade, enrollment rose by 68 percent, and between 1919–20 and 1929–30, enrollment rose by 84 percent.”

E1 and E3 quote an NCES 'Total fall enrollment' row running from 52,286 to over 14.7 million, but the quoted rows do not label the year each column refers to. Under the criteria they cannot fix the 1870–2000 ratio. E5 gives only decade percentage increases for 1900–1930, and E2/E4 address the 19th-century baseline and earlier growth without end-period totals. The evidence given does not establish the enrollment ratio over the specified period.