This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Welner, K. G. Articles by Kupermintz, H. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Rethinking Expert Testimony in Education Rights Litigation

University of Colorado at Boulder

Haggai Kupermintz

University of Haifa, Israel

Courts often rely on the testimony of experts to understand arguments and implications in education rights litigation. But expert testimony, and statistical testimony in particular, can offer a false sense of security for the unwary. This article uses expert testimony offered in two recent desegregation cases to consider whether sufficient protections are presently in place to protect judges, who are usually statistical novices, from being confused or misled by experts. These case studies illustrate how, without the use of additional protections, courts can be misled. Following this examination, we offer suggestions intended to improve judges’ comprehension of expert testimony. At its most general level, this article addresses the role of researchers in presenting important educational issues in ways that speak clearly to policy-makers.

Key Words: ability grouping • expert witnesses • law • policy • tracking

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 26, No. 2, 127-142 (2004)
DOI: 10.3102/01623737026002127


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. M. Superfine The Evolving Role of the Courts in Educational Policy: The Tension Between Judicial, Scientific, and Democratic Decision Making in Kitzmiller v. Dover American Educational Research Journal, December 1, 2009; 46(4): 898 - 923. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. Superfine Deciding Who Decides Questions at the Intersection of School Finance Reform Litigation and Standards-Based Accountability Policies Educational Policy, May 1, 2009; 23(3): 480 - 514. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Mayrowetz and J. Lapham "But We're in a Court of Law. We're Not in a Legislature.": The Promise and Pitfalls of Educational Policy Reform Through the Judicial Branch Educational Policy, May 1, 2008; 22(3): 379 - 421. [Abstract] [PDF]