Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Another Queston about News Coverage

EdWeek published an article at the top of their website yesterday titled "Reading Scores Get 'Bump' From Student Incentives, Study Finds." The blurb under the headline reads "School-based reward programs that offer students such incentives as cash, free MP3 players, or other gifts appear to produce improved reading achievement across grade levels."

Meanwhile, if you read the article you find out that the this particular study found no effect of incentives on math performance.

So, here's my question: why do the headline and blurb beneath only mention half the story? Sure, the effect on reading scores is more newsworthy -- but that doesn't mean that math scores shouldn't be mentioned. How about this: "Study Finds Student Incentives Boost Reading Scores, Have No Effect on Math Scores."

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