Data Analysis Exercise for Students
This exercise calls upon you to test the hypothesis in several research examples. You should use the
instruction about selecting a statistic and the special York Excel file to complete this task. Email this
assignment to the instructor.
Case A: Improving the grades of at-risk middle school students
Project GO is designed to improve the grades of middle school students who are at-risk of failing a grade.
The numerical grades given by teachers serve as the measure of the dependent variable. Students
served by this program are given a set of services such as tutoring, group discussion, and case
management from a social worker. This program is implemented in the second grading period of the
school year. The grades of clients during the first grading period of the school year will be compared to
their grades during the second grading period to see if the program is effective. The data are given
below.
Student Grade in 1st grading period Grade in 2nd grading period
1 56 71
2 61 77
3 68 78
4 51 35
5 55 65
6 67 81
7 66 77
8 67 62
9 55 78
Your task is to insert your answers to the following questions:
1. State the hypothesis being tested in Case A.
2. What is the dependent variable in Case A?
3. At what level is the dependent variable measured in Case A?
4. What research design is employed for Case A?
5. What statistic would be useful for testing the hypothesis for Case A?
6. What does this statistic do?
7. Did the data support the hypothesis? Answer either YES or NO and explain your answer with specific
data.
8. Was practical significance achieved in Case A? Explain.
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