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School administrators sometimes implement the stupidest policies based on correlations of various strengths. But even a strong correlation might have nothing to

School administrators sometimes implement the stupidest policies based on correlations of various strengths. But even a strong correlation might have nothing to do with causation. E.g.: A school my wife used to work at is requiring all 8th graders to take algebra (normally a high-school-level class in the US) regardless of math aptitude because some study shows that 8th graders who take algebra have improved outcomes. Nevermind the fact that this is almost certainly because kids who are already good at math will both take algebra AND have improved outcomes.

Fuzzwah 2y ago
Continuing with the logic of that school, most wildly successful people were bullied at school.....
- masfuerte 2y ago
  And many of them lost a parent at an early age.
  - dullcrisp 2y ago
    Both parents in an armed robbery is weakly correlated with successful outcomes.
tomatovole 2y ago
Somewhere out there, an economist who has dedicated their life to causal inference is crying
chrismorgan 2y ago
Depending on what “algebra” as an entire class actually is (I don’t know of it in that form from my Australian upbringing or from elsewhere) I can see it possibly having real benefit: abstract reasoning is one of the major things that needs to be taught to kids and has huge benefits but too often isn’t particularly taught; and algebra with all its symbolic representations and logical reasoning is excellent for that. From your single-paragraph anecdote I don’t know the full story, of course, but it’s plausible to me that it might be not solely a case of confusing correlation and causation, but at least partly because the described effect made sense to people making the decisions, based on their broad experience in education.
- taco_emoji 2y ago
  The point is that they're teaching algebra without ensuring that the students are proficient in the prerequisites, so those students who are behind are not actually learning anything. You might as well teach it in first grade for all the good it's doing.
  - empressplay 2y ago
    honestly, teaching the concept of a variable in first grade might not be the worst idea in the world

Fuzzwah 2y ago

Continuing with the logic of that school, most wildly successful people were bullied at school.....

masfuerte 2y ago
And many of them lost a parent at an early age.
- dullcrisp 2y ago
  Both parents in an armed robbery is weakly correlated with successful outcomes.

tomatovole 2y ago

Somewhere out there, an economist who has dedicated their life to causal inference is crying

chrismorgan 2y ago

Depending on what “algebra” as an entire class actually is (I don’t know of it in that form from my Australian upbringing or from elsewhere) I can see it possibly having real benefit: abstract reasoning is one of the major things that needs to be taught to kids and has huge benefits but too often isn’t particularly taught; and algebra with all its symbolic representations and logical reasoning is excellent for that. From your single-paragraph anecdote I don’t know the full story, of course, but it’s plausible to me that it might be not solely a case of confusing correlation and causation, but at least partly because the described effect made sense to people making the decisions, based on their broad experience in education.

taco_emoji 2y ago
The point is that they're teaching algebra without ensuring that the students are proficient in the prerequisites, so those students who are behind are not actually learning anything. You might as well teach it in first grade for all the good it's doing.
- empressplay 2y ago
  honestly, teaching the concept of a variable in first grade might not be the worst idea in the world