Merit · Measurement · Opportunity
For more than thirty years, I've worked inside the systems that use metrics to make judgments, asking inconvenient questions about whether we should be calling those metrics merit.
For more than thirty years, I've worked inside the systems that use metrics to make judgments, asking inconvenient questions about whether we should be calling those metrics merit.
Concept 01
Standardized tests present numbers with a specificity that implies accuracy they don't have. A number that appears precise is almost always an idea pretending to be a fact.
Concept 02
The differences we measure at 16 were being shaped since students were 5. We don't measure intelligence or ability. We measure the resources that provided the opportunity to show what they've learned.
"All rankings are some form of personal opinion filtered through mathematics, so it’s a subjective assessment of quality."
Inside Higher Ed · September 2024
"These families who started on third base decided to steal home and pay off the refs to ensure that they beat the tag."
Vanity Fair · 2019
For nearly a century, admissions testing has presented the approximations of psychology as the precision of physics. Part history, part insider analysis, part practical guide — the book aims to replace mythology and marketing with clarity that helps families, educators, and policymakers make better decisions.
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