tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post7311663376102605268..comments2024-03-28T19:41:49.974-04:00Comments on the daily howler: Public school watch: Concerning the role of Advanced Placement classes!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-58186316441168828472016-05-27T08:56:28.806-04:002016-05-27T08:56:28.806-04:00"Serious problems" in scare quotes? Hah..."Serious problems" in scare quotes? Hahahahahahaha. Talk about showing your hand.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-74475942114124968592016-05-26T18:26:13.407-04:002016-05-26T18:26:13.407-04:00The one pointing out "serious problems" ...The one pointing out "serious problems" makes up his data and invents non existent rules. You call his critics "shits" for pointing that out.<br /><br />How are the trombone lessons coming along?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-61458991369903311962016-05-25T11:38:28.468-04:002016-05-25T11:38:28.468-04:00Serious problems exist with our high-profile, infl...Serious problems exist with our high-profile, influential national reporting on schools. Here, we see one typical example of that, yet shits like Anon12:01 always pretend to find a bigger problem with the few pointing that out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-64569814900653403642016-05-25T00:01:57.249-04:002016-05-25T00:01:57.249-04:00"Remember, income is only one measure of SES ..."Remember, income is only one measure of SES used in the Stanford study. Family structure and parental educational attainment were also used by Stanford in assessing students' SES."<br /><br />Yes indeed kiddos. And don't forget that those two measures, education level of adults and number of adults in today's modern houselhold are the two things that will do the most to drive up income levels in the first place. So pat Bob on the head for this self evident nonsense and tell him how cute he is when he calls you "dumb."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85397809324101154402016-05-24T20:09:47.006-04:002016-05-24T20:09:47.006-04:00I agree with most of your comment, Anon, but would...I agree with most of your comment, Anon, but would add one point. The Times report addresses "average", not "mean". I don't think one can tell from the report whether the word "average" is used here to mean "mean" or "median"<br /><br />Also, the Times has a usage that I dislike, namely, addressing a difference in averages as if it were a difference in all students. E.g., they write, "There are large differences between white students and their black and Hispanic classmates." This statement isn't quite correct. There are differences in the <i>averages</i> of these groups, but that difference in averages doesn't tell you anything about a particular white student or a particular black student.David in Calhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10222355423128534221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-81048103962928122192016-05-24T16:39:58.461-04:002016-05-24T16:39:58.461-04:00This is just a nitpick because I agree with Somerb...This is just a nitpick because I agree with Somerby's points here. An average achievement of 3.8 grades above average does not mean that roughly half of all students will be above that 3.8-above-average level. This is only true when 3.8-above-average is the median achievement. Somerby's statement that half the students will be above some score is only true when the distribution is normal. If the distribution is skewed by very high or very low scores, there can be many more scores in the tail of the distribution opposite the skew, than there are in the other tail and more than half of students will be in that direction and far fewer in the other direction. It is only when the distribution is symmetrical that the median and the mean scores are close to each other and his statement is true.<br /><br />With very large numbers of students in Detroit, the distribution is more likely to be normal. In a smaller city like Lexington, most students might be high achieving but there may be some exceptionally low scores (caused by disability rather than poverty) that skew the distribution and depress the mean, making it unrepresentative of most students. In schools, it is a few very high achieving students who skew the distribution and raise the mean above what is true for most students in that school.<br /><br />It would be better if Somerby said median when he means 50% are above/below, instead of mean or the less descriptive term "average."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com