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The VAM Might Finally be Dead
May 15, 2017
My latest Bloomberg View column, probably my favorite so far:
Don’t Grade Teachers With a Bad Algorithm
Categories: Uncategorized
mathbabe 
It would be interesting to know the algorithms they used. Surely someone has leaked some of them by now?
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How high do you suppose VAM would rank on your crackpot index?
It seems to me it would get 20 points simply for claims made without detailed explanation of how it works.
And several other items on your list as well.
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VAM gets all the points.
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To paraphrase George Carlin: “People who should be hit in the face with heavy mining equipment”: The asshole who answered your friend, “It’s math, you wouldn’t understand it.”
Oh, really. And you do?
Loved your book , Dr. O’Neil.
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Have you considered that VAM may have been used to normalize the concept of “growth” in educational metrics, laying the groundwork for widespread adoption of Pay for Success impact investing models in K12? My sense is that the push to transition educational activities to online platforms via blended/hybrid learning management systems is related to the commodification of education and structuring new financial markets. They need for SIB deal evaluation to be automated as much as possible, and that can only be done if educational “success” is constrained to a few measurable metrics that can preferably be assessed by algorithms. They won’t be hiring auditors to review portfolios of authentic student work to determine Goldman Sachs’ payout. I think we are just entering a new phase. VAM was just a beachhead. http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/11/social-impact-bonds-the-titans-of-finance-as-the-altruistic-merchants-of-schooling-and-the-common-good/
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Any time people say “You wouldn’t understand…”, it usually means they don’t want to explain it, for a host of reasons (Don’t pay any attention to the man behind the curtain).
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