Debunking Krugman

As a former school administrator, I am always fascinated by the use of statistics in order to explain either educational progress or failure. I remember sitting in countless meetings cringing while listening to such manipulations. But we were just amateurs when it came to using data to justify conclusions. For a real master at this game one has to read Paul Krugman at the New York Times.

In his last column, Krugman uses ACT and SAT data to show that Texas students are performing below Wisconsin students. Ergo, Wisconsin students are the beneficiaries of teachers that have a right to collective bargain, while Texas students suffer because their teachers have no such right.

Thank God for the age of the Internet.  In a short period after the publication of the article, Iowahawk published an entry that shows how similar data can be used to demonstrate that students in Texas are performing better than those of Wisconsin when taking into consideration ethnic breakdown and the perorfomance of different ethnic groups on the national level.

Read the article by clicking here: Longhorns 17, Badgers 1