Questionable Journalism: The "Moving Across The Country" Anecdote
In case you hadn't seen it, this post from The Quick & The Ed (here)points out how the WSJ turns an education-related anecdote into a trend story -- and how quickly the anecdote gets picked up and used in the public debate as a truism.
What isn't noted is that this isn't the first time that this reporter (Suein Hwang) has written a story whose main premise has seemed to some to be more controversial than well-documented. Just over a year ago, it was a front page story called "The New White Flight," about how schools in Silicon Valley were losing white kids who wanted less competition with Asian kids. Jay Mathews wrote a response that touches briefly on the lack of statistics to go along with the story (I Am an Asian Parent).
If it happens a third time, it's a trend.
