This is a really great point, but I think it mostly applies to the undergraduate level. Profs should have the time to grade essays for grad-school sized classes.

But yeah, with undergrads it'd be nearly impossible, with core econ classes having upwards of 100 students in one class.

That being said, I would not want to make undergrad econ less quantitative. More quantitative classes serves the students better. I want employers to know that my students have taken rigorous classes in calculus, optimization, and statistics.

The thing is, what's good for the individual may not be best for society when applied to the whole. If all econ students know is mathy stuff, that might be good for them in the job market, but if none of them know their history it limits the generation of future economists from thinking beyond the current system. (I think that's what's going on with all the high-paid normies unwilling to learn about Bitcoin and think about monetary history)