Students in Minnesota public schools must pass a basic skills test to graduate from high school. This test is given to students when they are in the 8th grade. The results have been rather disappointing. In some districts, many students were unable to pass this test.
Some suggested that public schools need increased funding. Others suggested that more school choice and competition was necessary to improve public schools. This debate is sure to continue for many years.
During this project, you will investigate the results from the most recent Minnesota Basic Skills Test, do some background reading, propose some possible reasons why so many students failed, and suggest some possible solutions.
Analyze the available data using the statistical functions of your TI-83 calculator.
You will be provided with data from public schools in the Twin Cities. The data will be transmitted into the statistics lists on your TI-83 calculator. You will receive the following data:
Do the following linear regressions (press Stat, go across to Calc, choose option 4: LinReg, press 2nd and 1 for L1, press the comma key, then press 2nd and 5 for L5). These will help you determine which of these factors correlates with the percentage of students passing the basic skills test:
Record the regression coefficient for each of these regressions (press Vars, choose option 5: statistics, go across to Eq, choose option 7: r) . Remember that the closer the regression coefficient is to either 1 or -1, the stronger the correlation is between the two factors.
Discuss your findings and try to come to some initial conclusions about which factors seem to affect how many students pass the basic skills test in each school district.
You will be given some articles with more information about the basic skills test.
You should also use the internet to look for other information. A good starting point is the Minnesota Department of Education web site. Click the red Graduation Standards button on the left. This will take you to a web page that has a lot of good background information on the basic skills test. This is also where your data came from.
You should also look at some local media web sites like the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune, and Channel 4000. These sites all allow you to do searches. Try searching for "basic skills test".
You might find some useful information by using more general search engines like Alta Vista or Excite, but you will need to sort through a lot of irrelevant information to find anything useful. If you use these search engines, try searching for "Minnesota basic skills test".
As you look through these internet resources, look for information that is specific to the question you are researching. You do not have time to read everything you might find about the Minnesota basic skills test. Look for information about why some students are failing while others are not, steps schools are taking to help their students do better, and solutions other people are suggesting.
Based on the statistical analysis you have done and on the articles and resources you have read, form a position on why some students are failing and others are not and what steps schools and the community at large should take to improve the situation.
You should be able to justify any conclusions you reach and any position you take. Avoid taking positions that are not based on your data, your analysis of that data, and the research you've done.
Your paper does not need to be any particular length but it must address the following questions:
Do not simply list short answers to these questions! Write your paper in paragraph form. Address these questions in enough detail that someone who is not familiar with this issue will understand what you are talking about, what you did, and what you are suggesting.
You should include graphs illustrating the relationships you discovered. You should create these graphs using Excel. The data will be available as an Excel document so you will not need to do any typing. Once you have created these graphs, you can insert them into your paper using Cut and Paste. Do not draw the graphs by hand!
You must justify your positions and conclusions. If you quote someone, you must say where you got that quote from. If you state something as a fact, you must indicate your source. If you mention something you found from your statistical analysis, you should refer to a graph that illustrates that relationship.
Have at least one or two people (parents or older siblings will do nicely) read your rough draft to insure that you are writing clearly and fully explaining the issues, the problems, and your suggested solutions.
Finally, complete the final draft of your report. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct. Include any suggestions made by those who read your rough draft. Fill in any missing details that confused them, or remove unnecessary details that overwhelmed them.
Print a copy of your report. And use the Hand In command in At Ease to hand in a copy online.