I don't know that it's higher, per se but it's more that being able to discuss concepts isn't enough. A programmer needs to be able to translate those concepts into actual algorithms and working code. I've interviewed people who were able to look at the coding problem we gave them and discuss it intelligently, but when it came to actually writing even pseudocode to solve it, failed miserably.
That’s true for other roles, like an MBA grad that can discuss financial principles but can’t navigate Quickbooks or use Excel.
From my admittedly limited understanding, many of those openings are filled based on resume and verbal interviews with little or no quantitative evaluation of skills.
Use Excel yes. I'd expect an MBA grad to know the accounting principles that Quickbooks is based on and maybe puzzle out how to use it but not be fluent in it to the degree I'd expect of Excel.
