Grokking social-science statistics
Several comments in the past few weeks have expressed some wonder that I use statistics when I am publicly skeptical of several policy-related uses of education statistics. I am a little confused by the comments (and implicit accusation of inconsistency), since many of the most articulate critics of high-stakes testing are assessment experts, but for […]
Needing a break, even for a hardened historian
During spring break, I starting reading some books on the Spanish Civil War, and I’m finding it tough slogging: it’s not inherently hard reading, but it’s hard to read for long about a story that ends badly, where thousands of people lost their lives and a country turned into a dictatorship that lasted for decades. […]
New media and academe
A few somewhat-related ideas floating in my head this afternoon: The persistent value of blogging. While many others assert a professional value of Twitter and LinkedIn, and I am sure they can be used in that way, I will stick to blogging: it’s public, it captures thoughts that require more than 140 characters, and I […]