FLUNKING THE SATs: Basically, an act of deception!

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Part 2—Why average scores are lower:
Nick Anderson is an experienced education reporter at the Washington Post, a major American newspaper or imitation of same.

According to his corporate bio, Anderson “joined The Post in 2005 after covering Congress and education for the Los Angeles Times, and he is a graduate of Stanford University.”

Anderson is highly experienced. Presumably, he isn’t stupid. For those reasons, we can only assume he was being dishonest in last Thursday’s front-page news report about the new SAT scores.

The College Board is the large corporate entity which runs the SATs. Late last week, it released its annual reports about the scores attained by American students on the 2015 testing.

Yesterday, we showed you the first five paragraphs of Anderson’s lengthy front-page report. Below, you see that passage again. By paragraph 5, it can only be said that Anderson seems to be lying, presumably in line with company policy:
ANDERSON (9/3/15): Scores on the SAT have sunk to the lowest level since the college admission test was overhauled in 2005, adding to worries about student performance in the nation’s high schools.

The average score for the Class of 2015 was 1490 out of a maximum 2400, the College Board reported Thursday. That was down 7 points from the previous class’s mark and was the lowest composite score of the past decade. There were declines of at least 2 points on all three sections of the test—critical reading, math and writing.

The steady decline in SAT scores and generally stagnant results from high schools on federal tests and other measures reflect a troubling shortcoming of education-reform efforts. The test results show that gains in reading and math in elementary grades haven’t led to broad improvement in high schools, experts say. That means several hundred thousand teenagers, especially those who grew up poor, are leaving school every year unready for college.

“Why is education reform hitting a wall in high school?” asked Michael J. Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a think tank. “You see this in all kinds of evidence. Kids don’t make a whole lot of gains once they’re in high school. It certainly should raise an alarm.”

It is difficult to pinpoint a reason for the decline in SAT scores, but educators cite a host of enduring challenges in the quest to lift high school achievement. Among them are poverty, language barriers, low levels of parental education and social ills that plague many urban neighborhoods.
“It is difficult to pinpoint a reason for the decline in SAT scores?” Unless we engage in obsessive parsing, Anderson seems to be lying when he makes that ridiculous claim.

Perhaps his editors made him say it! We have no way to know.

Why is it so hard to believe that Anderson acted in good faith when he wrote that front-page news report? The answer lies in two bone-simple types of information—the changing demographics of SAT test-takers, and the average scores which get recorded by different groups of kids.

These bone-simple types of information take us into the ugly results of our brutal American history. They also display some effects of ongoing social policy.

However we may assess those matters, the information here is bone-simple, and Anderson is fully aware of this information. Perhaps in line with company policy, he chose to pretend that he isn’t.

Let’s start with average SAT scores attained by different groups of American high school students. As Anderson surely knows, these were the average reading scores attained by four major demographic groups on this year’s testing:
Average scores, 2015 SAT, reading
White students: 529
Black students: 431
Hispanic students: 450
Asian-American students: 525
National average: 495
Please understand! Those are not the average scores for all American students in the respective groups. All students don’t take the SATs. Those are simply the average scores for those kids who did.

That said, there is a large range of average scores among those four demographic groups. In math, the range of average scores was substantially wider:
Average scores, 2015 SAT, math
White students: 534
Black students: 428
Hispanic students: 456
Asian-American students: 598
National average: 511
The College Board doesn’t encourage reporters to review these basic data, which can be used to criticize the SATs, often unfairly.

That said, these data are published for all to see. For the year 2015, click here, scroll down to Table 7: Total Mean Scores by Ethnicity.

The gaps between the average scores of those four basic groups haven’t changed much in recent years. Anderson, an experienced reporter, knows all about these facts, which are painful but very basic.

That gives you a rough idea of the way different groups have scored on these tests in recent years. Now, let’s discuss recent changes in the demographic distribution of the students who take these annual tests.

Every education reporter knows all about what follows! Right at the start of this year’s overview report, the College Board discussed the demographic changes in SAT test-takers:
THE COLLEGE BOARD: A record 1.70 million students from the class of 2015 took the SAT, compared to 1.67 million students from the graduating class of 2014 and 1.65 million in the class of 2011.

32.5% were underrepresented minority students, compared to 31.3% in the class of 2014 and 29.0% in the class of 2011.

25.1% of SAT takers in the class of 2015 took the exam using a fee waiver,
compared to 23.6% from the class of 2014 and 21.3% from the class of 2011.
That’s wonderfully guarded corporate language, as you can probably see. Let's translate into the English:

We can’t see where the College Board ever explains the term “underrepresented minority students,” although the term may be defined somewhere in their reports. Based on data from years of reports, it seems to mean this: “black, Hispanic and American Indian students.”

Whatever! In that passage, the College Board seems to be saying three things. More kids are taking the SATs each year—and as they do, the percentage of minority kids within the tested group has been growing. Also, the percentage of low-income kids has been growing—students who get a “fee waiver.”

Surely, everyone understands the basic meaning of those basic facts. In part because of our brutal history—in part because of ongoing social policy—black and Hispanic kids have been scoring substantially lower on the SATs than white and Asian-American kids. And not only that! Every year, black and Hispanic kids constitute a larger percentage of the kids who sign up to be tested.

That may be good educational policy, but it will rather plainly tend to lower average scores!Just for the record, these are the percentages of the total group tested who came from those four major groups in 2011 and in 2015, according to College Board reports:
Percentage of the total group tested, 2011/2015
White students: 53/47
Black students: 13/13
Hispanic students: 16/20
Asian-American students: 11/12
In 2011, white students constituted 53 percent of all SAT test-takers. In 2015, white students constituted just 47 percent of the total group tested. By way of contrast:

In 2011, Hispanic students constituted 16 percent of all tested students. In 2015, Hispanic students constituted 20 percent of the total group.

These are basic, bone-simple statistics. Every education reporter on earth is able to understand one basic take-away from these basic facts.

At the present time, Hispanic students score substantially lower on the SATs, on average, than white students do. If more Hispanic kids take the tests, and fewer white kids take the tests, this will tend to lower the overall average scores!

Everybody understands this basic, bone-simple logic! In particular, Nick Anderson understands this logic. In truth, there’s no chance he doesn’t understand every point we've made today—absolutely no chance on earth.

(We’ll even assume that Anderson’s editors understand this bone-simple material, although no one ever went broke underestimating the Post’s editorial staff. Or the extent to which we pseudo-liberals don’t care about topics like this.)

This brings us back to the front page of last Thursday’s Washington Post—to the lengthy, front-page news report which carried Anderson’s byline.

By paragraph 5, Anderson was saying this: “It is difficult to pinpoint a reason for the decline in SAT scores.”

Unless we’re parsing with extreme care, that statement represents an obvious act of deception. One basic reason for the decline in average scores is staring us right in the face, in ways which Anderson understands. Indeed, the College Board highlighted the demographic changes in question right at the very start of its annual report.

That said, the Post has played this remarkable game for many years now. So have many other major American “news” orgs. We know of no other part of American life where our news reporting is so baldly “fictitious”—where the news you’re allowed to hear is so carefully “edited” to comport with approved elite scripts.

Basically, the Washington Post was lying to its readers last week. That said, they’ve been doing this for a good many years when it comes to the meaning of domestic and international test scores.

The New York Times is almost as bad, as we’ll see by the end of the week. Last Thursday, the Post flunked the SATs. In Gotham, the Times came close.

Tomorrow: Repeat after us...

56 comments:

  1. The rules of Political Correctness require ignoring certain facts. Thus Bob's post comes close to being "racist" as that term is now defined. Bob points out that Asian Americans outscore blacks (on average) on the math SAT 598 to 428. Bob says, "The College Board doesn’t encourage reporters to review these basic data." That's because for many purposes, we're supposed to pretend this information doesn't exist.

    E.g., suppose I'm hiring an actuarial trainee and have two applicants -- one black, one Asian American. It would be illegal for me to take the average SAT score difference into account and prefer the Asian American. It would be improper for my boss to remind me of these figures.

    Bob definitely doesn't want to be accused of implying that one group is genetically superior to another. So he asserts that the score difference is due, "In part because of our brutal history—in part because of ongoing social policy." Herrnstein and Murray said pretty much the same thing in "The Bell Curve" when they noted the factual difference in average IQs. That disclaimer didn't save them from being widely branded as racists.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why would you use group averages to assess an individual candidate? Why wouldn't you use that particular individual's scores -- their own math ability to decide, instead of their membership in some larger group?

      Using membership in a group to make a hiring decision, instead of considering the specific abilities of the candidate at hand, is the essence of prohibited racial/ethnic discrimination. Every person deserves to be evaluated on his or her own merits. So, yes, it would be not only "improper" but illegal for your boss to remind you of those figures and especially illegal for you to consider them instead of the candidate's own abilities.

      Delete
    2. Why would you use group averages to assess an individual candidate? Why wouldn't you use that particular individual's scores?

      There used to be two so-called "Actuarial Aptitude Tests." One was math, the other English. These tests were given to applicants for the job of actuarial trainee and played a useful role in hiring decisions.

      But, lawsuits were filed against many tests of this sort, alleging that they discriminated against various minorities. IMHO these tests were good for minorities, because they were objective. They were a way to overcome prejudice. Nevertheless, the lawsuits were generally successful, and aptitude tests like these tended to disappear.

      Delete
    3. Generally, a lawsuit against a test succeeds when it can be shown that the test content has little to do with successful performance of the job itself, but is mainly being used to exclude people from certain groups. I can understand the math part of an actuarial test, but what is the purpose of the English part? If the lawsuit got that test kicked out, I suspect it was because the English skills required on the test are not as relevant to being an actuary and tended to keep out non-native speakers, unfairly because they would be able to do the job competently with lower English test scores.

      Aptitude tests that relate directly to job performance have not been eliminated. Such a test should correlate with later performance evaluations and have face validity (e.g., questions that have some obvious relation to job content).

      For example, high scores on an English language test as a requirement for a job spray-painting airplane parts is ridiculous -- an obvious attempt to keep immigrants and non-native speakers out of certain job categories. High scores on an English language test as a requirement for a job writing copy for a newspaper is a valid requirement. The courts evaluate the use of tests in the context of the jobs they are being used to select people for.

      Delete
    4. @ 10:43

      Old poison in new bottles.

      Delete
    5. David in Cal:

      Forgive me, it seems that you didn't actually answer the question:

      "Why would [one] use group averages to assess an individual candidate? Why wouldn't [one] use that particular individual's scores -- their own math ability to decide, instead of their membership in some larger group?"

      The quintessentially American (and liberal, I would argue) principle of evaluating individuals primarily on their own, individual characteristics should immediately leap to mind, shouldn't it?

      When you write (my clarifications added):

      "suppose I'm hiring an actuarial trainee and have two applicants -- one black, one Asian American. It would be illegal for me to take the [group] average SAT score difference into account and prefer the Asian American [based on her membership in the highest averaging group]. It would be improper for my boss to remind me of these figures [so that I was encouraged to disregard individual skill, merit and capacity in hiring]."

      , that's a wonderfully American value at work.

      This way of doing things is moral, individually just, and ultimately useful for everyone in our political-economy, as everyone will be provided the opportunity to add to productivity and value to the full extent of their own, individual capacity --which benefits our entire country.

      When the questioner writes "Every person deserves to be evaluated on his or her own merits," can you possibly argue from an American perspective that this is not so?

      When you write "for many purposes, we're supposed to pretend this information [regarding average scores by racial or ethnic group ] doesn't exist," upholding American values is precisely that purpose why we (in our best cases) systemically disregard (not pretend away) information which is irrelevant to evaluating individual merit.

      You're trying to make a point about political correctness requirements by declaring that group characteristics should be used instead of individual merit, which, in addition to being illegal, is about as un-American as it gets.

      If we were to use the principles from your example in, say, our justice system, courts would be convicting or clearing individuals alleged to have committed crimes on the basis of the average conviction rate of their ethnic group, instead of whether the prosecution could provide prove an individual case.

      Surely you cannot endorse such an almost Maoist, illiberal value system, David in Cal, without rejecting everything for which the founders of this country stood.

      "Why would you use group averages to assess an individual candidate? Why wouldn't you use that particular individual's scores -- their own math ability to decide, instead of their membership in some larger group"

      Please answer the question, if you wouldn't mind.

      Delete
    6. "In part because of our brutal history—in part because of ongoing social policy—black and Hispanic kids have been scoring substantially lower on the SATs than white and Asian-American kids."

      I hate to be that guy, but if people are going to keep making this lame excuse, then I will keep asking: Where on earth do black and hispanic kids score the same as whites and asian-americans in academics? Surely they must excel in some pockets of Africa and South America where white people haven't yet had the chance to ruin generations of minds with their unique forms of brutality and racist social policies.

      Bob is the harbinger of truth against "Howlers" from the media.

      Delete
    7. @ 1:52 I could just feel the self loathing pour from each word as you hated "to be that guy."

      Delete
    8. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2015 at 12:08 PM -- IMHO the English actuarial aptitude test was indeed relevant to the work. Actuarial exams are written in English. Some questions have complex wording. And, the work of an actuary involves extensive oral and written communication, generally requiring precision of language. Also, these tests correlate with IQ. Being smart is of value for almost any job.

      Perhaps these tests could have been justified in court. Part of the problem is that decisions in court were made by people not experienced in the business -- people who were apt to jump to conclusions, just as Anon 12:08 did. In any event, insurance companies found it simpler to just drop the two tests. That was too bad IMHO, because these tests were particularly helpful in demonstrating the competence of certain groups that had long been discriminated against in the insurance industry, such as women, Catholics, Jews, and Asians.

      Delete
    9. Stuart Zechman -- I'm not sure what your question is, but I'll comment to the best of my ability.

      Regarding group vs. individual characteristics: Of course individual characteristics are better. As I pointed out, liberals actually made it more difficult to measure individual characteristics by getting many aptitude tests thrown out.

      As a practical matter, an employer has a limited ability to measure individual skill, merit and capacity. Suppose you were interviewing me for a position as actuarial trainee. You knew I graduated from college with a BS in math and then we spoke for half an hour. How precise a picture of my skill, merit and capacity would you have? Pretty limited, I'd say.

      IMHO the quintessentially American and liberal principle was freedom. An employer was free to hire who s/he like and a worker was free to take whatever job s/he liked. Affirmative action laws were needed for blacks, but IMHO they were a necessary evil. I regret that they've been expanded.

      Stuart, you write, "Every person deserves to be evaluated on his or her own merits." I don't agree. In fact, I don't even know what the word "deserves" means here. If it's the law, it's the law. But, if you mean "deserves" from a moral POV, then I need to know what religion or what moral base you're reasoning from. In my view, there's a real world out there. and we simply have to deal with it as best we can. We don't deserve anything.

      This is getting long, so I'll stop here. Stuart, if I haven't answered your question, ask again and I'll give it another try.

      Delete
    10. "Samuel George Morton said pretty much the same thing [as Bob] in Crania American when he noted the factual differences in average IQs."

      FTFY - dogwhistle troll

      Delete
    11. @1:52 Children of African immigrants do much better than African American children with similar income levels. Black children whose parents are from the Caribbean also do much better than African American children, controlling for income level. That should answer part of your question.

      Delete
  2. The other factor lowering the scores, which Somerby doesn't mention above, is that more students in all groups are taking the SAT. Some states are requiring all students to take it, regardless of whether they plan to go to college or not. That means that students who are not doing well enough in high school to qualify for college admission will still be taking the SAT. Further, they may not be motivated to do well on the test, having been forced to take it and having no college-related goals. That means they may score very low, decreasing the mean for whatever group they are a member of (white, Hispanic, black or Asian). There have always been such students -- what is different is that they are now being required to take the SAT. That will increase the number of fee waivers, but it will also increase the number of students in other income groups too. Adding students with no interest in taking the test to the group of test takers will decrease the mean, especially in comparison to other years when such students were not required to take the test.

    I think the media are not attempting to explain any of this because it is hard for the public to understand statistics -- and most readers find statistics boring. It is easier for them to relate to the other explanations. I agree with Somerby that this is dishonest reporting. Newspapers should attempt to explain actual causes, even when numbers are involved. They do it in their financial reporting, so why not with education issues?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anderson should have explained that in standardized testing, there is often tension between the twin goals of boosting participation and raising scores. It is hard to accomplish both on a broad scale because when more students take a test, especially those with educational disadvantages, very often average scores are weighed down. When fewer take a test, average scores often rise.

      Delete
  3. "Anderson is highly experienced. Presumably, he isn’t stupid. For those reasons, we can only assume he was being dishonest....."

    When you went to a prestigious college and have been around a long, long time the only excuse for dissatisfactory work is dishonesty.

    Meet Bob Somerby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The evidence was not solely his graduation from Stanford. It was his experience at several papers doing the education beat. It was dishonest to ignore the changes in demographics in favor of criticizing schools. But you aren't here to discuss education issues -- you think you have made a clever putdown of Somerby. Someone who has been at an Ivy League school and experienced first-hand what it does and does not provide is perhaps best qualified to know whether Anderson should have known better.

      You, lazy troll that you are, have spent no time whatsoever explaining why you think Somerby's current post constitutes unsatisfactory work. Your main complaint seems to be that only perfect people are allowed to criticize others. Perhaps you think of yourself as one of those perfect people, as you write your boring daily complaints about a blog you are not required to read.

      Delete
    2. Presumably Anderson is not stupid because he went to Stanford. Anderson has been a reporter for 23-24 years so he is experienced.

      Bob Somerby did not like Mr. Anderson's article. Therefore the only assumption for this dissatisfaction is that Mr. Anderson was being dishonest, ACCORDING TO MR. SOMERBY.

      Did I say Mr. Somerby's work was dissatisfactory in any way? No. I did not. Did I say anything at all about Mr. Somerby's education or experience? No. I did not.

      Presumably, according to Mr. Somerby, Mr. Anderson is not stupid. Demonstrably, based on your comment you are.

      Delete
    3. "Someone who has been at an Ivy League school and experienced first-hand what it does and does not provide is perhaps best qualified to know whether Anderson should have known better."

      Please @ 11:59. Tell me where you went to school.

      I want to know if I am best qualified to know if you should have known better.

      Delete
  4. It is not difficult to pinpoint a reason why SAT scores are declining.

    Fewer white kids are taking it. More black and Hispanic kids are taking it.

    That is my take on Somerby's post.

    That. other than filling in the relevant numbers was all Nick Anderson had to write. The headline could have read:

    SAT SCORES: MINORITY PARTICIPATION UP, SCORES DOWN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Except Mr. Anderson was not writing just about SAT scores. That said, you might miss that fact based on Mr. Somerby's post.

      Delete
    2. The headline and the main topic of the article was the decrease in SAT scores. Somerby has not misrepresented the article.

      Delete
    3. It seems Mr. Somerby succeeded with you, presumably in line with company policy.

      Delete
  5. Repeat after us.... SATs are a limited measure of national achievement because only college-bound students take them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. One basic reason for the decline in average scores is staring us right in the face,

    Close to 42 percent of students who took the SAT reached a score of at least 1550, a benchmark for college and career readiness. The share was far lower for Hispanic students (23 percent) and African Americans (16 percent).

    Data show wide racial and ethnic gaps in college readiness, with African American, American Indian and Hispanic students less prepared than their white and Asian counterparts.

    The information here is bone-simple, and Anderson is fully aware of this information. He chose to pretend that he isn’t.

    ReplyDelete
  7. In a sense, Anderson is right. Providing an explanation is difficult, because the obvious explanation is non-PC. Dare he write, "Average SAT scores declined because more blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans took the test, and they're stupider than whites and Asians"? That's essentially what Bob said, although his wording was less blunt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How does that differ from saying what I said @ 3:22?

      "Close to 42 percent of students who took the SAT reached a score of at least 1550, a benchmark for college and career readiness. The share was far lower for Hispanic students (23 percent) and African Americans (16 percent).

      Data show wide racial and ethnic gaps in college readiness, with African American, American Indian and Hispanic students less prepared than their white and Asian counterparts."

      Delete
    2. The question is not whether their performance is lower. It is why it is lower. David wants to say it is because certain people are "stupider." Few teachers believe students are stupid. They have seen that effective teaching, motivation and effort result in learning and they do not tend to divide students up into smart and stupid categories. Academic disadvantage means students have less opportunity to learn. Most teachers and most liberals favor that as an explanation, not inherent minority stupidity or teacher incompetence (the two preferred conservative explanations).

      Delete
    3. I didn't say inherently stupid. Not being able to do math IS a way of being stupid. I don't claim to know what causes some people to be better than others at various academic skills.

      Delete
    4. You need to learn the difference between stupid and ignorant.

      Delete
    5. "Few teachers believe students are stupid....Academic disadvantage means students have less opportunity to learn. Most teachers and most liberals favor that as an explanation."

      I thought minorities were lazy, dumb, and their morals were bad. Or is that liberals? I'm confused. It used to be bone simple. I know the answer is around here somewhere, staring us in the face.

      Delete
    6. ...and then there's stupid and ignorant.

      Delete
  8. "Average SAT scores declined because more blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans took the test, and they're POORER than whites and Asians"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That rationale holds right up until you compare to the scores of poor whites, who outscore all "underrepresented minority" classes handily. But we must keep it a secret.

      Delete
    2. So give us the scores. I suspect you must keep it secret because you don't have them.

      Delete
    3. @5:14 -- Being poor and being a member of a minority group is a double whammy. Poor white students do not also experience discrimination and low expectations.

      Delete
  9. Does anyone here think that if SAT test results showed gains, Somerby would not be singing a different tune?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @3:59
      Take that to the correct offender:

      If the test scores had gone up the story wouldn't have been printed because it doesn't feed the narrative that American schools are going to hell and it's all the fault of incompetent teachers and their infernal unions.

      But honestly, who cares if the scores go up or down? The test isn't developed to grade students from year-to-year. It's developed to index a graduating class for college admissions.

      Delete
    2. Alas, wrong on both counts.

      But as the Times reported just yesterday, national SAT scores hit an all-time high in math last year, and the verbal score has risen four points in the past decade. SATs are a limited measure of national achievement because only college-bound students take them. But did Herbert describe a generalized (and growing) “crisis?” The claim is hard to square with those numbers,.."

      St. Somerby, The Daily Howler, 9/1/2005

      http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh090105.shtml

      Delete
    3. Is there anything in what you quoted that is untrue?

      Delete
    4. To me there is nothing in that quote but confirmation of what @ 3:59 said. Except the reference to the Times coverage of higher scores. That merely refutes what @ 4:31 said.

      Delete
  10. Which Bob Somerby should we believe?

    "Anderson is highly experienced. Presumably, he isn’t stupid. For those reasons, we can only assume he was being dishonest."

    "Perhaps his editors made him say it! We have no way to know."

    Or can we presume Somerby assumes when he doesn't know?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The article was baldy deceptive about a significant point. That said, I prefer to condemn the writing tics of guy who points that out.

      Delete
    2. I hate seeing my favorite blogger revealed as self contradictory so I prefer calling his illogical presentation a writing tic instead of a sign of seriously loose screws.

      Delete
    3. So sad, indeed. There is nothing self-contradictory in what Somerby said here. Your saying it doesn't make it so, but that's what you seem to think.

      Delete
    4. Somerby is highly experienced. Presumably what he wrote about Anderson the last time he covered his work on the SAT's was honest.

      "Gack! As everyone knows, it’s dangerous to make comparisons from one year to the next with the SAT...almost every year, a larger portion of the student population chooses to take the test.

      ...This makes it hard to compare average scores from one year to the next.

      If you don’t know that, you don’t know anything about testing. At the Post, Donna St. George and Nick Anderson showed little sign of knowing that in their lengthy report." Somerby 9/27/13

      So two years later, when the same reporter does the same thing, it is clearly dishonesty instead of ignorance, unless of course his editors made him say it.

      urban legend you are an experienced Howler reader. Your comments usually show intelligence. For that reason this comment had to be tongue in cheek.

      But maybe the Devil made you say it. He works in ways most mortals never see,

      Delete
    5. Why do you focus on trivialities like this choice of words instead of dealing with the main point of Somerby's post? Does it matter whether Anderson was dishonest or ignorant or subservient to an editor? What matters is that the press is misrepresenting the cause of decreases in SAT scores in order to attack public schooling.

      Delete
    6. Sorry @11:05. It was Somerby who raised the honesty issue, not me.

      If Somerby wants to be honest he will not attack the integrity of a person he does not know then later seemingly say, well maybe he isn't dishonest, it is his bosses who are dishonest.

      Delete
    7. You cannot help a person who is determined to pretend "Nick Anderson showed little sign of knowing" with regard to one thing and "[Nick] Anderson is highly experienced. Presumably, he isn’t stupid. For those reasons, we can only assume he was being dishonest" with regard to another thing are contradictory opinions.

      Such a person is not interested in understanding either Nick Anderson or Bob Somerby, much less the topics which are being discussed.

      Such a person, is simply, a douchbag troll.

      Delete
    8. No, The Room, you cannot help me because you are the one in need of help.

      You see, Bob Somerby wasn't writing about Nick Anderson saying one thing the first time and about Nick Anderson saying another thing the second time. He was saying different things about the same writer who was covering the same topic the same way both times.

      Of course, you chose to ignore that he even went further and offered a third explanation, which contradicted both opinions that were directed at Mr. Anderson individually, and suggested his bosses could be to blame, making his ignorance or dishonesty irrelevant.

      Sadly, not knowing where you went to college, I cannot grant you the presumption Mr. Harvard graduate gave to Mr. Stanford graduate with regard to your stupidity.

      Delete
    9. With Tears In Our Eyes From LaughterSeptember 11, 2015 at 2:12 PM

      "You cannot help a person who is determined to pretend ..."

      And then he shows up again and proves it.
      Delightful.

      Delete
  11. SAT scores measure the efficiency with which the test taker was coached. That is why poor kids uniformly underperform richer kids. I say this as a person who has generally aced standardized tests and I *know* they are useless as a measure of skill in the workplace or even of college readiness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Test prep isn't that effective at increasing scores. Most of the benefit comes from familiarity with the format of the questions. That is something that can be acquired using the practice tests available to everyone who registers to take the test. The scores are not "useless" but they are not as good a predictor as other info, such as high school gpa. Useless would imply they are entirely uncorrelated and that is not true.

      Delete

  12. My name is SERENA WILLIAMS, am from UK. i want to use this opportunity to thank my great doctor who really made my life a pleasurable one today. This great man DR.EWAN brought my husband back to me, i had three lovely kids for my husband, about four years ago i and my husband has been into one quarrel or the other until he finally left me for one lady. i felt life was over and my kids thought they would never see their father again. i tried to be strong just for the kids but i could not control the pains that torments my heart, my heart was filled with sorrows and pains because i was really in love with my husband. Every day and night i think of him and always wish he would come back to me, until one day i met a good friend of mine that was also in a situation like me but her problem was her ex-boyfriend who she had an unwanted pregnancy for and he refused to take responsibility and dumped her. she told me that mine was a small case and that i should not worry about it at all, so i asked her what was the solution to my problems and she gave me this great man email address. i was doubting if this man was the solution, so i contacted this great man and he told me what to do and i did them all, he told me to wait for just two day and that my husband will come crawling on his kneels just for forgiveness so i faithfully did what this great man asked me to do and for sure after two days i heard a knock on the door, in a great surprise i saw him on his kneels and i was speechless, when he saw me, all he did was crying and asking me for forgiveness, from that day, all the pains and sorrows in my heart flew away,since then i and my husband and our lovely kids are happy.that's why i want to say a big thank you to DR.EWAN spiritual temple. This great man made me to understand that there is no problem on earth that has no solution so please if you know that you have this same problem or any problem that is similar, i will advise you to come straight to this great man. you can email him at:covenantsolutiontemple@gmail.com, you can still call him on his mobile number +2347052958531 SERENAWILLIAMSuk@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. My husband cheated on me for Almost three years. he ignore me for several months and left me with nothing, but i am happy today that Chief Nwaluta brought my husband back, I am so happy, Now my husband is all mine again. I can now say I'm happy again. Great spell from Chief Nwaluta, Chief Nwaluta is genuine. I truly believe in him and his spells. he is a professional. , My name is Sandra Gault and I live in Bryan Texas, My husband and i got married for more than 11 years and have gotten two kids. thing were going well with us and we are always happy. until one day my husband started to behave in a way i could not understand, i was very confused by the way he treat me and the kids. later that month he did not come home again and he called me that he want a divorce, i asked him what have i done wrong to deserve this from him, all he was saying is that he want a divorce that he hate me and do not want to see me again in his life, i was mad and also frustrated do not know what to do,i was sick for more than 2 weeks because of the divorce. i love him so much he was everything to me without him my life is incomplete. i told my sister and she told me to contact a spell caster, i never believe in all this spell casting of a thing. i just want to try if something will come out of it. i contacted Chief Nwaluta for the return of my husband to me, they told me that my husband have been taken by another woman, that she cast a spell on him that is why he hate me and also want us to divorce. then they told me that they have to cast a spell on him that will make him return to me and the kids, they casted the spell and after 1 week my husband called me and he told me that i should forgive him, he started to apologize on phone and said that he still love me that he did not know what happen to him that he left me. it was the spell that he Chief Nwaluta casted on him that make him come back to me today,me and my family are now happy again today. thank you Chief Nwaluta for what you have done for me i would have been nothing today if not for your great spell. i want you my friends who are passing through all this kind of love problem of getting back their husband, wife , or ex boyfriend and girlfriend to contact Chief Nwaluta,if you need his help you can contact him through his private E-mail:{ Nwalutaspelltemple@gmail.com } or you can contact him through his Web site :http://nwalutaspelltemple.blogspot.com. Thanks you Chief Nwaluta.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Investing online has been a main source of income,that's why knowledge plays a very important role in humanity,you don't need to over work yourself for money.All you need is the right information,and you could build your own wealth from the comfort of your home!Binary trading is dependent on timely signals,assets or controlled strategies which when mastered increases chance of winning up to 90%-100% with trading. It’s possible to earn $10,000 to $20,000 trading weekly-monthly,just file a complaint with  Robert,I had almost given up on everything about binary trading and ever getting my lost funds back,till i met with him,with his help now i have my lost funds back to my bank account and I can now trade successfully with his profitable strategies and software!! Email: Robertseaman939@gmail.com or Fb.me/investandmakemoney1 or  whatsApp: +44 7466 770724

    ReplyDelete