39 Articles

Friday, October 30, 2009
Covering up the News
The overuse of anonymous sources.

Friday, October 23, 2009
What's Wrong with a Free Press
(7 comments) Why the press should rely less on anonymous sources.

Sunday, September 6, 2009
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics Regarding the Advanced Placement Program
Misreported statistics about the Advanced Placement program are misleading the public about the program's success.

Friday, August 28, 2009
When Newspapers Become Fish Wrap
How newspapers are letting us down.

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Paying Students to Perform
(1 comments) Several recent programs in which low income high school students are being paid for successfully completing college courses are showing some promising results.

Friday, June 26, 2009
Garbage In, Newsweek Data Out
Newsweek's high school ranking methodology distorts reality and misleads the public.

Friday, June 19, 2009
Affirmative Action Against the SAT
A new approach to increasing diversity at public universities, in states with anti-affirmative action laws. Piling on against the SAT.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
National Education Standards and Tests are Unlike the SAT
A response to a recent Christian Science Monitor commentary that equated problems with the SAT with the problems we might expect to encounter in developing national educational standards for states.

Sunday, June 7, 2009
Clemson Steps into a USN&WR Rankings Mess
Frank admissions by Clemson official as to how that university is gaming the USN&WR college rankings.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
A Cut California Governor Shouldn't Make
Why Governor Schwarzenegger should not slash funding for Hastings College of the Law

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
A Positive Sport's Message
A decision to disobey his college football coach by NFL player Mike Golic, illustrates an important psychological principle.

Saturday, May 30, 2009
Right Move by the College Board Regarding Advanced Placement
(1 comments) The College Board has shifted its policy with regard to the Advanced Placement program. They are now emphasizing, along with equitable access, that only students who are adequately prepared to take the classes should be admitted into them.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Reporting the News Well and, Well, Not so Well
The story of the Montana plane crash and how it was handled by two newspapers.

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Why Headlines Matter
We get a lot of our news merely from the headlines of stories so it's important news sources get them right.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
How Not to Report the News
(1 comments) A piece of bad journalism in which the San Francisco Chronicle slams the Mayor of that city

Saturday, February 7, 2009
Advanced Placement News is Generally Good
After years of declining percentages of AP exam-takers passing those tests, passing percentages on the 2008 exam held constant from 2007. That good news, however, is tempered by the fact that there remains a large racial achievement and participation gap on the exams.

Thursday, February 5, 2009
Why Our Children Need National Multiple Choice Tests
(16 comments) While unpopular, we should insist upon national standardized tests for our children at every grade level.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Obama Effect and its Psychological Implications
Researchers recently found that after the election and inauguration of the President that the achievement gap between the races disappeared based on scores on questions from the GRE. There is other promising psychological research to suggest that this might not be a mirage.

Saturday, January 24, 2009
Crazy College Admissions and the Canadian Alternative
Why students and their families caught up in the college admissions frenzy should consider the alternative of going to university in Canada.

Friday, January 23, 2009
Don't Push Uneducated Students into Colleges
(4 comments) Rebuttal of recent calls to send more U.S. students to college.

Friday, January 16, 2009
Why the Insanity of College Admissions Will Change
(6 comments) The insanity of competing for spots at elite colleges and why that competition will relax in the future.

Monday, January 5, 2009
Jettison the SAT
(3 comments) A new policy from the College Board and another reason why colleges should discontinue requiring the SAT test.

Saturday, December 13, 2008
Psychology of Change
(1 comments) Psychological explanation as to why people are generally so resistant to change.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Nonsensical Rankings From Those People Who Bring You Nonsense
(2 comments) An evaluation of three school rankings' systems (Newsweek, Washington Post, and USN&WR) and why you should ignore them.

Monday, December 1, 2008
Time Magazine Crowns Education's Next Messiah
(1 comments) Cover story in this week's Time Magazine about Michelle Rhee, who is being championed to save public education

Sunday, November 30, 2008
Real SAT Ire...Really
(4 comments) Why college admissions' offices should dump the SAT and require subject tests.

Saturday, November 22, 2008
Fixing the California Education Mess
A step to begin fixing the fiscal crisis in the California State University system

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Stats Help for Journalists and the Public
(2 comments) A common statistical error journalists make and how to spot it

Monday, October 20, 2008
Baylor Shoots at USN&WR Rankings...And Then Backs Down
How one college devised a clever plan to game USN&WR's college rankings and then changed its policy in response to criticism

Friday, October 17, 2008
A French Perspective or Une Perspective Francaise
A bit of humor (hopefully) from across the pond

Thursday, October 16, 2008
No More Teachers Dirty Looks
A 21st century school reform from a 20th century psychologist

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Don't Know Much About History
(8 comments) What our students don't know about history and why they should know it.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Reframing Our Economic Recovery
(1 comments) Psychologically repairing America's economy

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A Psychologically-Inspired Economic Recovery
(1 comments) How psychological science can fuel an economic comeback

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
High School Diploma Should Mean Something
(10 comments) While it is important that we increase the numbers of students graduating from high school and improve our methods of counting dropouts, it is even more important that we establish national standards to insure that a high school diploma means something.

Saturday, October 11, 2008
Education Gap Widens and No One Cares
Widening racial gap in educational performance that has become so commonplace that we no longer see it

Friday, October 10, 2008
It's Education, Stupid
(3 comments) Candidates ignoring education

Friday, October 10, 2008
Cheer Up America, You Could be In France or Switzerland
A reprieve from the economic news with a look overseas

Thursday, October 9, 2008
Media Mangles Education News... Again
A study about college admissions tests