debate constructive and well-founded. We can
ASA Science Policy Actions
also help the public and policymakers understand
the data.
ASA president urges congressional leaders
I should also stress that I’m not asking you to
to expedite confirmation of Robert M. be one-handed statisticians. There will always be
Groves as U.S. Census Bureau director studies saying something works and others saying
it does not. Statisticians are extremely well-situated
ASA president sends letter to education
to explain the differences and discuss the merits or
Secretary Arne Duncan regarding the scopes of various studies. But, we must—in simple
National Center for education Statistics and concise terms—explain why studies are inclu-
commissioner
sive or reach contradicting conclusions and give a
professional opinion about which conclusions have
The ASA signs a letter opposing further the most validity, if any, or where further study is
diversion of NIH and NSF funding for small needed. If we get into the details, we risk being per-
business innovation research grants
ceived as unhelpful. The shorter and to-the-point
our answers, the better.
ASA president sends letter in support of
To affect education policy, the first step is to
the ehlers-Dodd Standards to Provide inform ourselves of the policies and playing fields,
educational Achievement for All Kids
which we do by monitoring the debates through
(SPeAK) Act
press coverage, blogs, radio programs, and town
hall or school board meetings. The opportunities to
inform the discussions will then present themselves.
We can also respond by calling in to radio shows,
writing letters to the editor, commenting on a blog,
— Connect high-growth children in class- writing an op-ed, or speaking up at a meeting.
rooms to their great teachers and great teachers We can arrange meetings with our elected officials
to their schools of education and offer our help and counsel. We should be
explicit in describing what we offer, perhaps by
— Understand better what makes great teach-
presenting samples.
ers tick, why they succeed, why they stay in the
In the process of such outreach, the profession
classroom, and how others can be like them
as a whole will benefit by our identifying ourselves
— Link good programs to higher test scores
as statisticians, and people will gain a better under-
and graduation rates
standing of statisticians’ expertise in comparing
analyses and understanding and presenting data. n
— Look a child in the eye at the age of eight,
nine, or 10 and say, “You are on track to be
accepted and to succeed in a competitive uni-
versity, and if you keep working hard, you will
absolutely get there.”
— See more states build comprehensive sys-
tems that track students from pre–K through
college, then link school data to work force data
Statisticians’ Opportunity
I’ve pointed out many opportunities statisticians
have for affecting education policy, and I’ll now
discuss how we can do that. First, however, let me
emphasize that I’m not asking our membership to
endorse any particular policy, whether it be from
the Obama Administration, Congress, or an outside
entity. Indeed, scientists are sometimes accused of
providing advice beyond their disciplinary expertise.
With that in mind, statisticians are well-suited to
inform policy debates. Harkening back to Duncan’s
call to keep the conversation “above partisan
policy disputes,” statisticians can help keep the
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