Nicholas Nassim Taleb

Put down your crystal balls

2017-07-04T09:32:36+01:00July 3rd, 2017|assessment, leadership|

Many of the schools I visit and work with feel under enormous pressure to predict what their students are likely to achieve in their next set of GCSEs. In the past, this approach sort of made sense. Of course there was always a margin for error, but most experienced teachers just knew what a C grade looked like in their subject. Also, when at least half of students' results were based on 'banked' modular results, the pressure to predict became ever more enticing. Sadly, the certainties we may have relied on have gone. Not only have Ofqual have worked hard to [...]

Big data is bad data

2016-01-12T09:49:42+00:00January 11th, 2016|leadership|

The cost of bad data is the illusion of knowledge. – Stephen Hawking Schools, as with almost every other organ of state, are increasingly obsessed with big data. There seem to be two main aims: prediction and control. If only we collect and analyse enough data then the secrets of the universe will be unlocked. No child will be left behind and all will have prizes. Can we learn from the past? No. Or at least, not in any way that helps. We can see trends, but these are far more likely to be noise than signal. When exam results are rising [...]

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