Simplistic manipulation of data: Paul Thomas responds to Thomas Friedman
Submitted to the NY Times
Paul Thomas, Furman University
Nov 21, 2010
Thomas L. Friedman's commentary on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's November 4 speech (The New York Times, November 20, 2010) reveals an ironic lesson that many people have failed to learn from Mark Twain's apt quip from the turn of the twentieth century:
"Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.'"1
More on our "bad" math scores
Published in San Jose Mercury News (November 16).
Is it true that "U.S. lags other wealthy nations in higher math" (Page B1, Nov. 11)?
Studies show that middle-class American children attending well-funded schools score near the top of the world in math. American average scores are unspectacular because a high percentage of American school children live in poverty (20 percent; Sweden has 3 percent).
Also, some countries inflate their scores by excluding many children of poverty from taking the test. This does
