<p>Here’s an interesting look at the national profile for the Class of 2014, from the Chronicle of Higher Education.</p>
<p>[A</a> Profile of This Year’s Freshmen - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/A-Profile-of-This-Years/126067/]A”>http://chronicle.com/article/A-Profile-of-This-Years/126067/)</p>
<p>As a survey researcher, this drives me crazy. There is no comparative data point – whether it’s the national profile for a previous year, a profile of a similar-age cohort who is not attending college, etc. </p>
<p>These are factoids. For example, take the religion column. It is merely just a series of factoids that 26.6% are Roman Catholic, 10.1% are Baptist, 2.9% are Jewish, and 1.2% are Buddhist. It only becomes meaningful if you know what the percentage of the US population and / or the percent of similar-age kids who are NOT attending college fall into each religious grouping. If 10% of the population is Catholic, that tells me that Catholics are well overrepresented. If 40% of the population is Catholic, that tells me that Catholics are well underrepresented. How can that 26.6% number be meaningful without any other context?</p>
<p>Sorry, major pet peeve of mine!</p>