May progress notes
All May birthdays and the anniversary are now done, all but two of the musical events are done, and one of the two belt tests are done. We know roughly how many faculty are being laid off at my university (very few, which is good, but many staff, which is bad). I’m far behind on […]
Default policy frames, rationality, and Mr. Bayes
About five weeks ago, Kevin Carey wrote a longish blog entry about null hypotheses, the status quo, and decision-making about policy. The gist of Carey’s argument was that we should be willing to make policy changes with a preponderance of evidence in favor of change.
Baggy-pants bingo
Instead of ideas such as the bill proposed by Florida Senator Gary Siplin, who suggested making droopy pants illegal, I have a much simpler idea: peer pressure. Blue 1st Period Gray White 2nd Period 3rd Period Polka Dots Nike 4th Period Cartoon “Mom” Girlfriend’s name Lunch Toy Stripes Nondescriptcolor 5th Period Sportsteam Pink! Any URL […]
Anniversary
My spouse and I will have been married 20 years, as of this afternoon around 2:30. My gift to her this morning: the complete Far Side collection. We couldn’t fit it on the shelves upright. Ah, well.
Qualitative data on schools
Yesterday’s story in the Washington Post (hat tip) on in-person reviews of schools by external committees is one step in the right direction for accountability: using in-person eyeballs instead of just statistical eyeballs to see what should be done. Rhee sent teams of people into schools she wanted to change. There are some questions I […]