US Education Dept. Flunks Statisitics 101
Read this piece in yesterday’s IHE, and see if you can believe it.
Apparently, a D of Ed statistical study was conducted to examine the impact of race as a factor in student loan default rate, and results were published accordingly. One small problem emerged inadvertantly last December however when, as part of the discovery process in litigation involving the department, it turned out that the study had omitted any data with regard to black students.
Now, let’s note slowly, carefully and specifically what happened here: 1) the US Department of Education conducted a survey in which it sought to demonstrate the impact of race on repayment rates of student loans and 2) it reached its conclusions without including any figures about black students in the analysis. I think I’ve got it right.
One of the commenters noted that a private business enterprise might well face criminal charges for work like this, while several others suggested that the missing data were deliberately excluded because the results would have been politically inconvenient.
At the very least, the episode doesn’t leave you brimming with confidence about the D of Ed’s capacity to produce reliable and accurate quantitative work, especially if it’s going to figure in their rating of individual programs’ eligibility for student loans.
Looks as if Secretary Duncan had better mandate some crash remediation in statistical analysis for his data crunchers, eh?
It’s all right, Glenn. Your readers won’t have much faith in your ability to use a spell-checker. When you’re writing a blog that criticizes the failures of others, you should at least do the minimum to ensure that your post is error free. So what happaned (sic)?
I never claimed to be a typist, which is a different type of failing, don’t you think?
I see this sort of stuff every day. If it is not race it is gender, it is so discouraging — and I do not know how much longer the middle is going to hold. I don’t even bother to apply for student affairs jobs anymore, people who look like me don’t even get interviewed.
What terrifies me is that eventually we will get to where everyone belongs to a group advocating for their own race. That is truly terrifying. On the other hand, as we increasingly become a tribal society, folk will have no choice.
What was it that Dr. King said about judging people on the basis of our character and not the color of our skin?