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Another post about the methods course that I’m now teaching. Chapter 3 of Naked Statistics is about deceptive description. So here is the accompanying assignment . . .
Many high school seniors are interested in attending Southwest America State University for college. Before 2015, applicants to this university had to submit high school transcripts that include average GPA scores, SAT scores, and an essay. In 2015, the application process changed; applicants had to submit high school transcripts with average GPA scores and two essays, while submission of SAT scores became optional. In 2019, the university claimed that the academic quality of its students had increased since 2011 given this pattern in the average SAT score of each year’s incoming class:
- 2011 – 990
- 2012 – 1130
- 2013 – 1090
- 2014 – 1150
- 2015 – 1160
- 2016 – 1185
- 2017 – 1170
- 2018 – 1190
Is this claim deceptive? Why?
You might be wondering about the origins of the above scenario. It’s a slight modification (and I do mean slight) of what I once heard from a vice president of enrollment management who was touting a supposed increase in the academic talents of incoming students.
I was pleased that nearly every student in the class correctly identified the reason the claim was deceptive.
Links to all posts in this series about information literacy: