The blog poet makes the assertion that economists are like weathermen, but in this case, I disagree respectfully. Economists of education express a certainty that no weatherman would. Weathermen (meteorologists) give you different scenarios, warn you that the track of the storm might shift, recognize that there are many uncertainties. Economists of education (not all of them! Think Helen Ladd of Duke) claim that they can use test scores to measure teacher effectiveness, and that they have taken all contingencies into account. Hundreds, probably thousands, of educators have lost their careers because of the specious claims of economists like Raj Chetty, who assert that they can judge the value-added of teachers by the test scores of their students, that third-grade teachers affect the life-time earnings of their students, and that teachers who don’t hit arbitrary test scores marks should be fired, sooner rather than later.
“Economists are like weathermen”
Economists are like weathermen
This cannot be denied
Cuz if, by chance, they get it right
It’s greatly AMPLIFIED!!
But mostly, they just get it wrong
And utter not a word
For them to actually point this out
Would really be unheard
And when their goof’s so blatant
They really can’t ignore it
They simply claim they found a “flaw”
But “markets” will restore it
from sarah http://ift.tt/2qFz4uy
