Assignment:  Conduct a quantitative analysis of a data sample provided by the instructor; write a hypothesis

Using the NoNameSchoolData, answer the following questions:

1.    What is the average English MCAS scaled score for girls in grades 4-5?

2.    What is the standard deviation?

3.    What scaled score is 1 standard deviation below the mean for these students? Students who score at this level are in what percentile for their group?

4.    What scaled score is 1 standard deviation above the mean for these students? Students who score at this level are in what percentile for their group?

5.    Taking the answers to #3 and 4, what percent of students have a score between these 2 limits?

6.    Repeat questions 1-5 for boys in grades 4-5.

7.    Which cohort (boys or girls) had the highest mean English MCAS score? Is the difference significant (p < .05)?

8.    What is the correlation between the boys English MCAS scores and their behavior (grades 4-5)?

9.    What is the correlation between the boys English MCAS scores and their attendance (grades 4-5)?

10.    Describe the relationship between race and English MCAS performance levels in grade 4-5.

11.    Based on what you found in #10, write a hypothesis which offers an explanation for the results and might be tested with data found in this spreadsheet. Test your hypothesis; what is the result?

Questions on Probability

1. Imagine rolling one die (with the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 on each side) 60 times in a row.

€¢    What is the probability that you would roll a 6 with all these tosses?

€¢    If you were to graph the data, on the graph below, what would the line look like?

Results

(number of times each number appears)

1    2    3    4    5    6

Number on the die

€¢    Is this a normal curve? Why not?

2. The average height of all the students at UMass Boston is 65 inches. The standard deviation is 3 inches.  Use the Normal Curve Calculator to find the answers below.

€¢    What is the probability of finding a student on the campus who is 60 tall or shorter?

€¢    What is the probability that all the students are six feet tall or shorter?

€¢    What is the probability of finding students that are more than 6 feet tall?

€¢    What is the probability of finding students that are 65 inches or shorter?

€¢    What is the probability of finding students that are 65 inches or taller?

3. What proportion of all the students will be between 62 and 68 inches tall?

4. What proportion of all the students will be between 59 and 71 inches tall?

Descriptive Statistics Questions on NoNameSchool Data

1.    What is the mean of the 7th grade boys’ scaled Math MCAS score? Is this larger or smaller than the girls’ average?

2.    What was the median behavioral referrals for 7th grade boys last year? How does this compare to the girls’ median? Why is the median the best choice for comparing behavioral referrals (rather than the mean or mode)?

3.    What is the mode for 7th grade boys racial identity? How about the girls? Why do we use mode for racial categories instead of mean or median? Name another variable on this spreadsheet that would be appropriate for the mode.

4.    Question (honor system): were you able to calculate these answers using the spreadsheet formulas or did you calculate these manually?

5.    What is the variance for the 7th grade boys scaled Math MCAS scores last year? How does this compare to the girls’ variance?

6.    What is the standard deviation for the 7th grade boys scaled Math MCAS scores last year? How does this compare to the girls’ standard deviation?

Challenge question: Calculate the z-scores on the boys’ Math MCAS results for 2012. Compare the mean z-scores by racial category (Asian, black, Hispanic, white). What does this tell you?

Questions on the NoNameSchoolData spreadsheet:

1.    Is this quantitative or qualitative data? Why?

2.    Which of the 4 categories of school data are presented here?

3.    Would it be possible to add school processes data? Give examples. What are some examples that might not fit in this spreadsheet?

4.    Would it be possible to add perception data? Give examples. What are some examples that might not fit in this spreadsheet?

Take the spreadsheet and perform the following exercises. You can answer questions 13€“ 19 on the same document as questions 1 €“ 4.

You should turn in 2 documents for this assignment: written answers to questions 1 €“ 4 and 13 €“ 19 and then also the revised spreadsheet following steps 5 €“ 12 below.

Excel Practice

Skills to address:

5.    Narrow the race column so it doesn’t take up so much space

6.    Widen the Behavioral Referrals column so the column heading is more readable

7.    Change the alignment of the column headers to 60 degrees

8.    Give the ID numbers a left margin alignment

9.    Change the page orientation to landscape (is it possible to get columns A-T all on one page?)

10.    Freeze the pane so the top row and left column do not move

11.    Hide columns K, L, M, N

12.    Highlight row 25 in yellow.

13.    How many students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the 2012 Math MCAS?

14.    How many students in grade 8 scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the 2012 Math MCAS?

15.    How many Hispanic students in grade 8 scored at the Proficient or Advanced level on the 2012 Math MCAS?

16.    How does this last number compare with Black, Asian and White students?

17.    What can you learn about gender differences, by race, for students in grade 8 on the 2012 Math MCAS?

18.    What is the mean Math scaled score for Black 8th grade girls? What is the median? What is the mode?

19.    What is the S.D.?