Wednesday, August 13, 2003

The 'Zero Dropout' Miracle: Alas! Alack! A Texas Tall Tale

The 'Zero Dropout' Miracle: Alas! Alack! A Texas Tall Tale: "ROBERT KIMBALL, an assistant principal at Sharpstown High School, sat smack in the middle of the 'Texas miracle.' His poor, mostly minority high school of 1,650 students had a freshman class of 1,000 that dwindled to fewer than 300 students by senior year. And yet, and this is the miracle, not one dropout to report!"

And Paige/Bush have given us "No Student Left in School".

Anyone familiar with any kind of clinical trial could have told Bush/Paige that the easiest way to show therapeutic efficacy is selective drop out. If you can get non-responders to leave a clinical trial faster than responders, and ignore than effect, you get great results.

Hence "intent to treat" analysis.

Their are parallels to Enron too. Give managers targets without resources, and subject them to very powerful incentives and harsh punishments. The most incorruptible, the most talented, and the most fortunate will find other jobs. The unfortunate, the average human being, those without choices, will play the game. The numbers will look terrific.

Hey, it worked for the Soviet Union! Their wheat production data looked great. Too bad about the famine.

Too bad George Bush never reads history.

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