This page presents the homework assignments, plus some winners of the weekly contest for "worst use, misuse or abuse of statistics and probabilistic reasoning in the media."
Homework
Weekly Contest Winners
Winner 1
Original article: "51% of Women are Now Living Without Spouse." New York Times, January 16, 2007.
Critique of the NY Times article: Sowell, Thomas. "Media Skews Numbers in Marriage Statistics." Pasadena Star News, February 11, 2007.
Reply from a NY Times Editor: Calame, Byron. "Can a 15-Year-Old be a 'Woman Without a Spouse'?" New York Times, February 11, 2007.
Winner 2
- Original article: Farley, Maggie. "U.S., Britain Fare Poorly in Children Survey." LA Times, February 15, 2007.
- Analysis by student (PDF) (Courtesy of Anonymous. Used with permission.)
Winner 3
- Original article: Golden, Daniel. "Math Lessons: To Boost Donor Numbers, Colleges Adopt new Tricks." Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2007.
Winner 4
- Evaluating police work (PDF) (Courtesy of Damien Bador. Used with permission.)
Winner 5
- Original article: Drew, Christopher. "Lower Voter Turnout is Seen in States that Require ID." New York Times, February 21, 2007.
- Analysis by student (PDF) (Courtesy of Anonymous. Used with permission.)