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(Use Excel) A recent report criticizes SAT-test-preparation providers for promis

ID: 3259167 • Letter: #

Question

(Use Excel) A recent report criticizes SAT-test-preparation providers for promising big score gains without any hard data to back up such claims (The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2009). Suppose eight college-bound students take a mock SAT, complete a three-month test-prep course, and then take the real SAT. Let the difference be defined as Score on Mock SAT minus Score on Real SAT. Use Table 2.

Assuming that the SAT scores difference is normally distributed, calculate the value of the test statistic and its associated p-value. (Negative value should be indicated by a minus sign. Round intermediate calculations to at least 4 decimal places. Compute the p-value using your unrounded test statistic value. Round "Test statistic" value to 2 decimal places and "p-value" to 4 decimal places.)

(Use Excel) A recent report criticizes SAT-test-preparation providers for promising big score gains without any hard data to back up such claims (The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2009). Suppose eight college-bound students take a mock SAT, complete a three-month test-prep course, and then take the real SAT. Let the difference be defined as Score on Mock SAT minus Score on Real SAT. Use Table 2.

Explanation / Answer

Score on Mock SAT = x

Score on Real SAT = y

d = x – y

x

y

d

1852

1805

47

1794

1734

60

1999

2068

-69

2171

2222

-51

1679

1714

-35

1804

1956

-152

1967

1809

158

1788

1706

82

x

y

d

1852

1805

47

1794

1734

60

1999

2068

-69

2171

2222

-51

1679

1714

-35

1804

1956

-152

1967

1809

158

1788

1706

82

d bar =

5

sd =

99.2745

t = d bar / ( sd / sqrt (n))

    = 5 / (99.2745/sqrt(8))

    = 0.14

Excel function:

=TDIST(0.14,7,1)

Test statistics = 0.14

p-value = 0.4463

x

y

d

1852

1805

47

1794

1734

60

1999

2068

-69

2171

2222

-51

1679

1714

-35

1804

1956

-152

1967

1809

158

1788

1706

82