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Oh, I know. I was just making the point that one could use statistics to make all sorts of claims, and without analysis, or knowledge of what ax is being ground, they don't mean much. One of the problems with rankings, for example, is that someone has to be last. The ranking does not tell you if the difference is trivial or not. Suppose the completion rate for Texas varies by less than 5 % from that for number one: does it matter much? Again, one would expect that in states like Idaho or New Mexico, which have very low population densities and few heavy industries, the expenditure on the environment is low, but is it culpable? If the cost of living is markedly lower in a given state, then the salaries of teachers might be comparatively low without meaning much. In the New York metro area, teachers' salaries are relatively high, but so are real estate prices and taxes. Anyway, I am not very impressed with the stats, and I have explained why....... |
