Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Believe or not: Less educated legislators do a better job

Believe or not: Less educated legislators do a better job

Published in the Globe and Mail
Monday August 29, 2011
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/believe-it-or-not-less-educated-legislators-do-a-better-job/article2143984/


The claim that less educated legislators in the U S do a better job than more educated legislators because their states have lower unemployment is a logical fallacy. One of the first things taught in statistics is that a correlation between two factors does not mean that one causes the other. States with lower unemployment are also more likely to be in the southern part of the US, but this does not suggest that being in the north causes unemployment. Writers, editors and readers should guard against the desire to draw simplistic conclusions by the misapplication of statistical correlations.

Sincerely,

  • Ruth Baumann
  • Gerry Connelly, Co Director Education Sustainability Development Academy, York University
  • Kathleen Gallagher, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Avis Glaze, President, Edu-quest International Inc.
  • Joan M. Green, Former Director of Education, Founding CEO of EQAO, International Education Consultant
  • Bill Hogarth
  • Ken Leithwood, Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Ben Levin, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Karen Mundy, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Jim Slotta, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  • Charles Ungerleider, Professor, Sociology of Education, The University of British Columbia

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