Posts tagged Numeracy
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Maryland is #4 in the nation in transit ridership
Jim Titus recently took on Maryland governor Larry Hogan’s claim that that fewer than 10% of Marylanders use transit. There’s another national survey that provides data for every state, and confirms that about 30% of Marylanders used transit in a specific month — fourth highest in the US. Keep reading…
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Bike sharing means more head injuries, study says? Actually, it’s the opposite
The headline on an NPR blog post Friday blared, “Brain Injuries Rose In Cities After Bike-Sharing Rolled Out.” It sounded horrible! A tiny graph showed a pretty clear trend, suggesting hard data behind this conclusion. As it turns out, while the authors of the study and news stories sensationalize the issue, the data show the exact opposite. The paper’s… Keep reading…
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Test scores rise. Is it better education or gentrification?
DC students’ scores grew dramatically on national standardized tests, more than almost every state. This is good news, but it’s hard to know whether the gains actually mean we’re educating students better, or just that more wealthy families are sending their kids to DC schools. The Washington Post editorial board isn’t hesitating to claim credit… Keep reading…
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Test score data has appropriate uses and limitations
Steve Glazerman recently criticized a report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), saying EPI’s report misused NAEP data in a practice he dubbed “misnaepery.” Elaine Weiss of EPI sent us this response. Steve Glazerman is right that, for specific purposes, longitudinal data would be an ideal tool to assess student growth in response to policy changes. Keep reading…
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Bad advocacy research abounds on school reform
DC school reform was a failure, claims a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). It’s a proven success, others insist. All sides of school reform debates are guilty of misinterpreting federal test data in ways that serve advocacy goals rather than finding truth. The EPI report blasts recent DC’s sweeping 2007 school reforms and similar efforts in Chicago… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Ride and learn
Better understand the Silver Line; Gripes on the Metro; Transfer delays dissuade transit riders; Drive-by wounds 13 in NoMA; KIPP wants to build at Randall; Too many schools?; Washington isn’t richest; And…; And and…. Keep reading…
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Ask GGW: Why are Md. house prices down and Va.‘s up?
Housing prices in Virginia increase by 0.8% in 2011, but over in Maryland they dropped 3.6%, Bloomberg reports. Reader Matt asks, why? Bloomberg quotes consultant Thomas Lawler, who blames differing foreclosure practices, and the article’s lede compares the Maryland and Virginia suburbs directly, claiming they’re “a lot alike.” Coming… Keep reading…
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We are the… 50%? stories misinterpret median incomes
The 5-month old news that the Washington region has 10 of the 15 “wealthiest” US counties got another round of press, DCist notes, after a MainStreet.com article subtitled, “Where the 1% lives.” But juxtaposing “the 1%” and any statistic of median income flunks basic statistics. The median household income is the income for the… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: We’re here, we’re urban
Hopefully not just like the Pentagon; Life, liberty, happiness and the ability to build sprawl?; Crosswalks aren’t temporary loading zones; Commute correlation computation; Seattle starts curbside composting; Mini links. Keep reading…