White lies, damned lies, and statistics.
I was told this by a teacher many years ago, and it really stuck with me. YOU CAN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ. I've always had a mathematical mind, so my mind's eye jumps when I see numbers that don't make sense. Mentally, I'm always questioning the validity of statistics when they are presented to me, even if they seem to make sense. As teachers, with standards-based education reform being the the buzzword of our times, we have to be aware of statistics, how they are generated, and most importantly, how they can be manipulated. I've included an interview from the New York Times with this post. The interview is with an author who wrote a book on how statistics are generated and manipulated. Even if you're not a mathematically inclined person, this interview, and this book, may be an important read.
Follow this link for the interview:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/the-dark-art-of-statistical-deception/
It is a great article. Thanks Mike. Our entire society not just the way education has been directed is strongly based on hard-science and quantitative research which relies heavily on statistics. Qualitative research (such as Kozol's) is often dismissed because it is based more on narratives and a variety of analysis. One of the important features of qualitative research is that it forces the researcher to articulate who they are and what their own biases may be whereas much of qualitative research appears and pretends to rely on "objectivity." While using statistics is a great way to support a thesis it is important to establish their limitations, and to articulate more than one version of your thesis!
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