PSEO FAQs

How can we tell real trends in the data vs noise infusion?

Small numbers are more likely to be noise infusion - in very small cells, the proportion of a cell that is noise is larger. All cells, including zeroes, have some level of noise infusion in them. In the data, a cell with a true count of 0 graduates could end up displaying a handful of grads. This is unlikely but not impossible.

So some of these small cells aren’t real?

The smaller the cells, the greater chance that flows totals are a result of the protection system and the signal to noise ratio is high. If the cell is large then there’s a lot more signal. In some cases small cells may be infused with negative noise that results in a 0 count.

What is the answer to the Ultimate Question?

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