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ZingZongZaddy t1_jdefnlp wrote

Reply to comment by Yourbubblestink in Maine has the lowest student/teacher ratio in the United States (11:1) by IrwinRSchyster1

It's not useful. It's intentionally misleading. Anyone using averages when sharing statistics is either inept or nefarious. Averages can be useful in specific cases but this isn't one of them.

Sorry you've apparently never taken a statistics class. The first thing they teach you is you can make the numbers say whatever you want them to say just by how the information is presented.

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Yourbubblestink t1_jdegbo5 wrote

Compared to all of the other states, using the same formulae, Maine teachers have it easier. Why is that a bad thing to point out?

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ZingZongZaddy t1_jdegwve wrote

Because that's not what the data says. It's flawed from the start by virtue of using averages for its comparison. It lacks nuance and doesn't account for the differences between Southern Maine and Aroostook county. This is the equivalent of a puff piece news story of kittens jumping on trampolines. It doesn't mean anything. It just is. That's why it's useless.

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