Uneducated guesses : using evidence to uncover misguided education policies

194 Pages·2011·2.5 MB·English

by  Howard Wainer

UnedUcated GUesses
 

UnedUcated GUesses
Using Evidence to Uncover Misguided
Education Policies
 

Howard wainEr
Princeton University Press
Princeton and oxford
Copyright © 2011 by Princeton University Press
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Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
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All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-0-691-14928-8
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
Wainer, Howard.
Uneducated guesses: using evidence to uncover
misguided education policies / Howard Wainer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-691-14928-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Universities
and colleges--United States--Entrance examinations.
2. Education—Standards United States. 3. Educational evaluation—
United States. I. Title.
LB2353.2.W35 2011
378.1’662--dc22
2010053097
This book has been composed in Palatino
Printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
To the parents of my childhood,
and the children of my parenthood.
 

for a successful technology, reality must
take precedence over public relations,
for nature cannot be fooled.
—richard P. feynman
 

Contents
xi
Preface
1
Introduction
1
on the value of entrance exams: What Happens
When the sat is Made optional? 8
2
on substituting achievement tests for aptitude
tests in college admissions 20
3
on rigid decision rules for scholarships 29
4
The aptitude-achievement connection:
Using an aptitude test to aid in allocating

educational resources 32
5
comparing the incomparable: on the importance
of Big assumptions and scant evidence 57
6
on examinee choice in educational testing 73
7
What if choice is Part of the test? 103
8
a Little ignorance is a dangerous Thing:
How statistics rescued a damsel in distress 110
9
assessing teachers from student scores:
on the Practicality of value-added Models 120