Census Training

I started training as a census worker today, should be an interesting gig. To get to this point though there was an initial testing process, a 30 question booklet that determined whether or not your skills were adequate enough to gather information for governmental hair splitting and local funding.

Having gone through some basic-to-medium grade statistics courses there seems to be much better ways at getting this information through representative sampling techniques, which would not only be much less expensive, but it would also be more accurate than door-to-door data collection. Other than providing a handful of jobs at a opportune time, why are we still utilizing a broken and costly system?

Back to the initial test. Here is a sample question you may expect to find on the test:

"If you walked 5 miles in one direction, then turned 180 degrees and walked 4 miles, how far from your starting point are you?


a) 37 miles
b) 1 mile
c) Jupiter
d) Banana peel"

Ok, that may not be an exact question that you would have seen on the test....it actually seems a bit too difficult (I mean there are angles, turning, AND walking involved).

With such a rigorous weeding out process and a technique that is loaded with flaws, this has to work....right?