\u201cNormal\u201d, you say?<\/p>\n
This week, we\u2019re breaking down \u201cnormal\u201d from two angles that get researchers all tangled up.<\/p>\n
One measurement is great, but developing the full picture requires multiple measurements from different perspectives.<\/p>\n
A personal example:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Remember the physical I mentioned in Part I<\/a>? Sure, it turned out that my temperature was normal-for-me. Still, just having a \u201cnormal\u201d temperature doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re healthy.<\/p>\n While it certainly takes more time to answer all of those questions, to stare into bright lights and to get banged in the knee with a rubber mallet, it\u2019s probably worthwhile. One data point does not a physical make.<\/p>\n Especially because I\u2019m no medical expert, I appreciate the thoroughness of my team of healthcare professionals. No quick analysis that ignores potentially important symptoms, no treatment plan to address an issue that actually isn\u2019t\u2026 go team!<\/p>\n A survey story:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n How do you know that students are successful in school? GPA? Attendance? Involvement in extracurriculars? Internships?<\/p>\n A recent survey<\/a> of District of Columbia Public Schools teachers showed that teachers have been feeling pressure to keep up stats on one key measurement prioritized by the system: graduation rates. Following an investigation<\/a> into allegedly inflated graduation rates at one high school, this survey collected feedback from 616 DCPS teachers.<\/p>\n Survey results showed that teachers felt pressure to ignore important facts like attendance, class performance and grades, and even violation of official policies, all with the goal in mind of passing students and improving the graduation rates.<\/p>\n