Intro
What is the SAT?
For those who don't know, the SAT is a test of a student's academic skills, used for admission to US colleges. An average student scores about 1400-1500 points on the SAT (according to College Board Stats of the Class of 2012)
What is a GPA?
Your GPA is the average of all your grades
In order to determine your GPA you sum up your grades of each class using points and divide that number by how many classes you have.
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0
For those who don't know, the SAT is a test of a student's academic skills, used for admission to US colleges. An average student scores about 1400-1500 points on the SAT (according to College Board Stats of the Class of 2012)
What is a GPA?
Your GPA is the average of all your grades
In order to determine your GPA you sum up your grades of each class using points and divide that number by how many classes you have.
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0
Hypothesis
Students who have a higher GPA tend to score significantly higher on the SAT.
Simply because a student's GPA reflects on their study habits and dedication to school and the work load. This study is significant because it will help encourage students who have a low GPA change their habits in order to score higher on the SAT; and those who already have awesome GPAs strive for a perfect score of 2400 on the SAT.
Simply because a student's GPA reflects on their study habits and dedication to school and the work load. This study is significant because it will help encourage students who have a low GPA change their habits in order to score higher on the SAT; and those who already have awesome GPAs strive for a perfect score of 2400 on the SAT.
Method
I selected a random sample of 100 students from the Spring 2013 SAT Score reports that I acquired from my college career counselor, Ms. Van Norden. There was no bias in collecting my sample since no names were involved in my data; just their SAT Scores and GPA.
Results
Chart of Data
GPA's and SAT Scores from Spring 2013
Scatterplot of Data
Our graph shows a relatively strong and positive correlation between GPAs (Independent variable) and SAT Scores (Dependent variable). We know this because of our correlation coefficient (r=0.785; 78.5% relationship).
Understanding statistical terms
* R : shows the strength of the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variable.
* R² : the percent of variance in the dependent variable that is predictable from the independent variables.
Correlation coefficient ("r") is used to indicate the relationship of two random variables , including strength and direction. It varies from -1 to 1.
Understanding statistical terms
* R : shows the strength of the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variable.
* R² : the percent of variance in the dependent variable that is predictable from the independent variables.
Correlation coefficient ("r") is used to indicate the relationship of two random variables , including strength and direction. It varies from -1 to 1.
Conclusion
My hypothesis that, students who have a higher GPA tend to score significantly higher on the SAT is strongly supported by my data. The calculated correlation coefficient ("r") demonstrates a 78.5% relationship between GPAs and SAT Scores. Therefore, we are able to conclude that GPA does in fact influence how high you score on the SAT.
Other factors that could also be correlated are (but are not limited to) :
* the number of AP/Honors classes a student takes
* the amount of time a student spends on studying
* if the student took SAT Prep classes and their consistency
Cause and Effect Relationships
* GPAs cause how high you score on the SAT
* Low GPAs cause lower scores to be obtained on the SAT
*Study habits cause high/low GPAs & SAT Scores
Variables
*# of AP/Honors classes
*Study Habits
*If a student took SAT Prep Classes
Sources of Bias
*Only sampled one school
*Sample size is relatively small compared to the population of all SAT takers.
Other factors that could also be correlated are (but are not limited to) :
* the number of AP/Honors classes a student takes
* the amount of time a student spends on studying
* if the student took SAT Prep classes and their consistency
Cause and Effect Relationships
* GPAs cause how high you score on the SAT
* Low GPAs cause lower scores to be obtained on the SAT
*Study habits cause high/low GPAs & SAT Scores
Variables
*# of AP/Honors classes
*Study Habits
*If a student took SAT Prep Classes
Sources of Bias
*Only sampled one school
*Sample size is relatively small compared to the population of all SAT takers.