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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NEWS & NOTES
BY DAVID LEWIS
Lack of Information Plus Political Philosophy
Hurts Support for Public Education
It is o en a frustrating experience trying
to discuss education nance and the
impact the severe funding cuts have
had in running school districts over
the past ten years. I frequently
nd myself thinking that the
person, who is undoubtedly
an educated and thoughtful
citizen, actually has such
little knowledge about the
true situation that they end
up offering suggestions
like, “Why don’t you
just pay teachers more,
then you wouldn’t have a
teacher shortage crisis and
you would attract higher
caliber candidates.”
eir lack of information,
combined sometimes with a
political philosophy that frowns
upon taxpayer support for public
education, actually leads them to
believe that they have, in fact, a rather
easy solution to what ails K-12 education
and why don’t we simply implement this or that
solution.
I have since come to learn that there is a name for this
phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger E ect, named
a er two Cornell University psychologists who gave
a large group of people tests and then asked them how
they thought they did. As described by Je Hester, the
astrophysicist who keynoted our Annual Conference a
few years ago, “Kruger and Dunning were startled by
what they found. Almost everyone who took the tests
were sure they did much better than average. at was
even true for the very worst performers, who wildly
overestimated their scores. At the same time, the very
best performers typically underestimated how they did.”
So, what they discovered is that the people who don’t
have the information or skills needed to do well on a
test, also don’t have enough information to be able to
assess their own performance or gauge the value of their
ILLUSTRATION/PHAISARNWONG
suggestions. As Je puts it, “People who know
very little can truly believe themselves
experts because they can’t tell the
di erence.”
When you consider the
billions of dollars in cuts to
public education, the increase
in class sizes, the relative
loss of teacher pay over
the years when factoring
in the negative effects
of inflation, and the
increased expectations
of “performance” – as
measured by the outcomes
of standardized tests – one
can’t help but wonder if some
of our policymakers haven’t
become overly submerged in
the Dunning-Kruger e ect.
As we enter into the New Year,
AASBO and the entire education
community stands ready to provide
accurate and timely information so that
our policymakers are well informed as to
the crisis facing public education in Arizona. We
would also ask that our members continue to engage and
connect with their legislative representatives in order to
increase our political voices with those who are tasked with
safeguarding the future generation.
Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of
our members who have volunteered their time, energy
and commitment with their involvement in the various
AASBO committees. From the Professional Development
Planning Committee to the Membership and Scholarship
Committee, the Data Analysis Committee, the Board of
Directors, the Legislative Committee and the all-important
Conference Planning committees, our e orts together have
continued to keep AASBO as a leading contributor for
professional development, legislative and policy advocacy,
and connectivity for our members. ank you for all of
your e orts and I wish everyone a happy and prosperous
New Year.
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