Most of the time, a skewed distribution, with a long tail, will be depicted almost exactly like a normal distribution, with a break cut into the tail, so that everything fits neatly on the page. Result: almost no one has a good feel for how skewed income in America really…
The Allocation Problem Congratulations if you’ve made it to Part V (the beginning is here). The allocation problem is easily stated: in America today there are a relatively small number of well-paid career tracks that are also highly satisfying and personally rewarding. I’ve named them as doctor, lawyer, professor, engineer,…
Social Mobility, College Admissions, and that Biased SAT [please read this essay from the beginning, or at least, read Part III before this one] My examples of elite occupations have been engineer, professor, doctor, lawyer, MBA, scientist. Besides good pay, satisfying work, and social esteem, these professions all share one feature:…
The Fantasy (and Nightmare) of Total Social Mobility [Although written to follow Part II, this part could be read on its own] Social mobility occurs when a person moves into a different social position in his or her maturity, relative to the social position they held at birth, which is…
Culture and Success on Tests and in School [Please read Part I of this post first, and note asterisked aside about the Bell Curve book, below, lest you scorn or doubt my moral fiber.] In Part I, the roles of nature and nurture were parsed. Although the children of professors…
Socio-Economic Status, Standardized Test Scores & College Admissions Many studies find a strong correlation between parents’ income and education level, and the child’s performance on standardized tests such as the SAT. Because of the role played by standardized tests in college admissions, especially for top tier schools, bias in test…
It makes a nice headline: “Cost of college out of control!” But that headline misleads. You don’t often see this alternative headline: “Family goes into debt, puts child up in Country Club for four years.” But that headline is neither more nor less misleading. Fact: at the University of California,…