Via my favorite libertarian jazz critic: Iowahawk grabs a Paul Krugman talking point and grinds it into a fine paste. One of those things that makes me think, “Dang, I wish I’d written that.”
Highlight:
White students in Texas perform better than white students in Wisconsin, black students in Texas perform better than black students in Wisconsin, Hispanic students in Texas perform better than Hispanic students in Wisconsin. In 18 separate ethnicity-controlled comparisons, the only one where Wisconsin students performed better than their peers in Texas was 4th grade science for Hispanic students (statistically insignificant), and this was reversed by 8th grade. Further, Texas students exceeded the national average for their ethnic cohort in all 18 comparisons; Wisconsinites were below the national average in 8, above average in 8.
Do read the whole thing.
"a database somewhere in his lower intestine"
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNever mind the rest of the item, I wish I'd written THAT!
I've read Iowahawk's post, and it is great! I also found another post that is equally interesting, on the question of why cohort graduation rates would be somehow at variance with event dropout rates:
thelure.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/graduation-rates-and-statistics/
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo everyone at NRO is reading Iowahawk? The perfect blending of wit and, well, even more wit. Nice....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDidn't you go to school in Texas? Seems like the school system must be doing all right.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI hope enough Wisconsinites (Wisconsonians?) catch this article and post it as fast as they can to the local media outlets up there - which over the past few weeks have been pretty well taken over by the organized pro union forces.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat's also interesting, and I already have passed this to Dave, is that Texas requires passing a graduation exam. 5 tries starting in the junior year. You pass it or no diploma. Wisconsin? It's only about how many years the kids' butts occupy seats in "required" classes. Might account for the overall graduation rate discrepancy.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI can’t replicate Iowahawks numbers (for Whites and Hispanics) using the NCES State Comparison calculator, found here:
External Link
Focusing on the 3Rs (Reading, Writing, Math), I performed retrievals for 2007 NAEP scores using:
- Grade 8
- Reading, Writing, Math
- Race/Ethnicity-White and Hispanic
- 2007 Accommodations Permitted (‘07 was the only year available for R, W, and M)
Here’s what I found (scores ordered by: Whites, Hispanics, W-H gap):
WI – Reading 270, 247, 22
TX – Reading 275, 251, 24
The W-H gap (favoring whites) is slightly smaller in WI than in TX
WI – Writing 162, 149, 12
TX – Writing 165, 142, 23
W-H gap is much smaller in WI than in TX (the between state W-H effect would be significant based on the SEs)
WI – Math 292, 268, 24
TX – Math 300, 277, 23
W-H gap is slightly smaller in TX than in WI
Conclusion: Kids in WI write better than kids in TX.
What am I missing?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIowahawk has been a fan of mine since I read his hilarious send up of a blustering, yachting politician.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse