“Gove’s Theorem”: a hitherto unknown statistical procedure whereby, in any given set, it is possible for all members of that set to be above the average… Q98 Chair: One is: if “good” requires pupil performance to exceed the national average, and if all schools must be good, how is this mathematically possible? Michael Gove: By getting better all the time. Q99 Chair: So it is possible, is it? Michael Gove: It is possible to get better all the time. Q100 Chair: Were you better at literacy than numeracy, Secretary of State? Michael Gove: I cannot remember. Extract from House of Commons Oral Evidence Education Committee, 31 January 2012 publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmeduc/uc1786-i/uc178601.htm What Gove actually meant is that, in any given set, it is possible for the average to rise (up to a maximum of 100%). Mathematically, the ‘average’ is a middle score or range between top and bottom. If you take the average as a minimum target, then it’s unclear what (if anything) you mean by ‘average’. Therein lies the real problem. Mathematically, the ‘average’ is an unsemantic term. It is not the same as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. These are linguistic terms with complex relativistic variables. In order to draw semantic conclusions from mathematical averages, we must first determine how our measurements are going to be meaningful and useful. This takes us away from the quantitative towards the qualitative. “If a measurement matters at all, it is because it must have some conceivable effect on decisions and behaviour. If we can’t identify a decision that could be affected by a proposed measurement and how it could change those decisions, then the measurement simply has no value.” ~ Douglas W. Hubbard, ‘How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of “Intangibles” in Business’ Incompetent management is always weak on valuing intangibles, so this is where I would hit them hardest.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:52:06 +0000
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