Topic: Does SAT Performance Correlate to Family Income and Education Level?
Statistical Concepts Covered:
You may have heard that correlation does not equal causation. In this applet, you’ll have the chance to explore some correlational data and think about what conclusions you can and cannot reasonably draw from the data.
Introduction:
As you’ve read in this chapter on scientific methods, psychologists often perform experiments, where they manipulate one variable, the independent variable, and measure its effect on another variable, the dependent variable. This approach is powerful because it allows the researcher to make claims about causal relationships. However, some questions either cannot or should not be answered through experimental manipulation. In these cases, the researchers may collect data on two variables without manipulating anything, and then look to see if there is a systematic relationship, or correlation, between those variables.
This applet uses data that was collected from The College Board’s 2013 College-Bound Seniors Total Group Profile Report, which includes information about SAT scores as well as demographic and academic measures for tens of thousands of students who took the SATs as well as information about previous years’ scores. The textbook states that evidence requires two key critical thinking skills: 1) that we interpret the data without bias; and 2) that we look for not just the truth, but the whole truth, in the evidence. Keep that in mind as you explore these data and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of correlational designs.
1) How would you describe the overall trend in SAT critical reading and math scores over the past 40 years? (Select “Scores by Year and Gender” for the field or group. Make sure “All” is chosen for the Level to display.)
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2) Which of the following provides the best or most reasonable explanation for the increase in total test scores between 1980 – 2000?
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3) How do SAT math scores change as family income levels increase? (Select “Income” for the field.)
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4) Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between SAT critical reading scores and the education level of the test-taker’s parents? (Select “Parents’ education” for the field.)
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5) The SAT is designed to be a measure of a student’s scholastic aptitude. Which of the following findings would you use to make an argument that SAT scores do indeed reflect a student’s academic abilities?
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6) Imagine that you had a friend who grew up in a low-income household who saw this data and then came to you upset because she feared that it meant that she was destined to do poorly on the SATs and thus have trouble getting into college. Based on the data, what would be the best advice you could give her?
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7) There is a positive correlation between parents’ education levels and SAT performance and also between family income levels and SAT performance. This means that as parents’ education or family income level increases, SAT performance increases. Based on these data, what other conclusion can be reached?
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8) The data indicate that higher parent education levels are positively correlated with higher SAT scores. If you wanted to show that increasing parents’ education levels caused an increase in their children’s SAT scores, which of the following techniques would be the most useful?
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9) On average, students who did not respond to the question about parents’ education levels appear to have performed worse than those who indicated that their parents had associate degrees or higher. Which of the following is one possible explanation for that finding?
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10) These exercises have led you through several data sets that show variables that are correlated with SAT math and reading performance. After analyzing the correlated variables, which of the following statements best reflects how we should interpret correlational results?
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