Keeping a sense of proportion but losing all perspective: a critique of Gorard's notion of the 'Politician's Error'

In 1999 Stephen Gorard published an article in this journal in which he provided a trenchant critique of what he termed the `politician's error' in analysing differences in educational attainment. The main consequence of this error, he argued, has been the production of misleading findings in relation to trends in educational performance over time that have, in turn, led to misguided and potentially damaging policy interventions. By using gender differences in educational attainment as a case study, this article begins by showing how Gorard's notion of the politician's error has been largely embraced and adopted uncritically by those within the field. However, the article goes on to demonstrate how Gorard's own preferred way of analysing such differences – by calculating and comparing proportionate changes in performance between groups – is also inherently problematic and can lead to the production of equally misleading findings. The article will argue that there is a need to develop a more reliable and valid way of measuring trends in educational performance over time and will show that one of the simplest ways of doing this is to make use of existing, and widely accepted, measures of effect size.

Henry Fox, first Lord Holland; a study of the career of an eighteenth century politician,

"Bibliography of the materials for a study of Henry Fox": v. 2, p. 382-386.

An American politician, a novel.

Mode of access: Internet.

A row in the kitchen, and, A politician's breakfast. Two Irish monologues ...

Mode of access: Internet.

An American politician : a novel /

Mode of access: Internet.

Letter to a politician (Samuel J. Tilden) /

Mode of access: Internet.

An American politician, a novel.

Mode of access: Internet.

The compleat politician:

Mode of access: Internet.

Robert John Walker, a politician from Jackson to Lincoln.

Mode of access: Internet.

The politician's manual: or, Statistical tables, exhibiting the returns of votes for electors of president and vice president of the United States, in the different states, in 1828, and various other important elections, since that period. With other useful information.

Mode of access: Internet.

The politician's manual : containing returns of elections in the United States, particularly the presidential election of 1832, with election laws, and other useful information /

Checklist Amer. imprints

The Politician's manual : containing the Declaration of American Independence, the Constitution of the United States and of New York, ... together with general tables, political and statistical /

Mode of access: Internet.

The American politician; containing the Declaration of the independence, the Constitution of the United States, the inaugural and first annual addresses and messages of all the presidents, and other important state papers; together with a selection of interesting statistical tables, and biographical notices of the signers of the Declaration of independence, the several presidents, and many other distinguished characters.

Mode of access: Internet.