Editors dedicated a recent issue of Science, Technology, and Human Values to the topic of ‘ghost variables.’ Articles focused on this topic through the lens of race. The brief idea is that certain features don’t appear directly within the scientific data. However, they ‘haunt’ the data, existing as invisible traces. I think we can put this idea to good use.
Let’s look at a topic I wrote about awhile back: standardized testing. Could there be ghost variables at work? Standard disclaimer: as some of you know, I work in the testing industry. My opinion – as always – is my own and only my own.
