Ranking Individuals Versus Groups

33 Pages Posted: 11 Feb 2003

See all articles by Shlomo Yitzhaki

Shlomo Yitzhaki

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Maggie Eisenstaedt

The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel (Deceased)

Date Written: September 2002

Abstract

Ranking groups (schools, regions, counties) according to the average score of their constituent parts - say, ranking schools by the academic achievements of students - is a common yardstick in evaluation and a cornerstone of any planning process. In this paper we show that under certain circumstances the ranking of groups, unlike the ranking of individuals, can be affected by the examiner. The fact that a ranking reversal is possible does not necessarily imply that the test itself is deficient, it merely reveals that the groups are non-homogeneous and therefore, the ranking of groups is meaningless. An investigation of the conditions under which such manipulation can occur leads us to suggest new statistical indicators as warning signals that can help one recognize such situations if and when they arise. It turns out that these indicators are related to the indicators for finding whether one distribution dominates another.

Keywords: IQ tests, Graduate Record Exam, Graduate Management Addmission Test, Allocation of budget to Schools

JEL Classification: C1, I2, I3

Suggested Citation

Yitzhaki, Shlomo and Eisenstaedt, Maggie, Ranking Individuals Versus Groups (September 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=351041 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.351041

Shlomo Yitzhaki (Contact Author)

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics ( email )

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Jerusalem, 91905
Israel
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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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United States

Maggie Eisenstaedt

The Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel (Deceased)