This is a sample question taken from MA610x , Statistic X (Total score: 50+5)

An educator looked down at a class where an open and friendly environment is strongly
encouraged. He claimed that a mugging based culture can significantly boost the
students’ performance, especially under his special guidance! A group of prominent
well-educated international researchers disagrees with the educator’s claim. They have
decided to conduct a statistical experiment in order to draw an appropriate conclusion.
Group A consists of 20 of randomly chosen people from Nertheland where people are
well known for their academic excellence and the high frequency of using F-word in
their daily conversation. Group B consists of 24 of randomly chosen people under the
educator’s special program. Usually, a double blind experiment is sufficient for any
confidential issues; however, this experiment is done 𝑛𝑡ℎ blind for it is highly sensitive to
the educator!

In the first test set by a third party, due to the lack of equipment, manpower and time,
only the mean, highest and lowest scores of 2 groups are recorded. The maximum score
is 27.

Group A: 25.0, 20, 27

Group B: 26.2, 23, 27

In the exam also set by a third party, here are the exact scores of people in the 2 groups.
The maximum score is 50.

Group A: 46, 47, 47, 45, 48, 40, 42, 33, 38, 44, 38, 39, 34, 46, 43, 42, 42, 42, 46, 42

Group B: 39, 47, 38, 32, 37, 35, 42, 32, 35, 34, 48, 42, 40, 41, 34, 41, 36, 45, 41, 42, 33,
31, 35, 36

With the aid of graphic calculators or any allowed electronic devices, conduct
appropriate tests to support your conclusions. Two tests should be conducted for two
different test papers. (40 marks, 20 for each test) - Warning: a wrong choice of statistic
test would jeopardize your score. There will be strictly no partial mark credited.

Lastly, write a short conclusion about your thoughts/ comments/ reflection/ evaluations
on the educator’s conclusion based on your test results. (10 marks – 5 for content and 5
for language! – and up to 5 bonus marks for content)
PROPOSED SOLUTION

Case 1: First test paper, use the two-sample t procedure with assuming suitable values
of standard deviations of the population since there are no exact data and the deviation
of the populations are unknown.

Hypotheses

Our hypotheses are

𝐻𝑜 : 𝜇1 = 𝜇2

𝐻𝑎 : 𝜇1 < 𝜇2

where 𝜇1 is the mean score of group A and 𝜇2 is the mean score of group B.

Conditions

Students should verify the 3 conditions: SRS, Normality and Independence.

Calculation

Assume the deviation of the scores of Group A is: 𝜎1 = 1.0 (or any values between 0.67
and 1.67) and the deviation of the scores of Group B is: 𝜎2 = 0.6 (or any values between
0.33 and 1.0).

The two sample t Statistic is

𝑥1 − 𝑥2 25.0 − 26.2
𝑡= = = −4.71
𝑠12 𝑠22 1.02 0.62
+ +
𝑛1 𝑛2 20 24

There are 19 degrees of freedom, the smaller of 𝑛1 − 1 = 19 and 𝑛2 − 1 = 23.

P-value = 0.000075

Interpretation

Since the P-value is smaller than 0.01, we reject 𝐻𝑜 at 1% significant level and conclude
that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the educator’s teaching methodology
would improve his students’ score.
Case 2: Second test paper, use the two-sample t procedure

Hypotheses

Our hypotheses are

𝐻𝑜 : 𝜇1 = 𝜇2

𝐻𝑎 : 𝜇1 > 𝜇2

Where 𝜇1 is the mean score of group A and 𝜇2 is the mean score of group B.

Conditions

Students should verify the 3 conditions: SRS, Normality and Independence.

Calculation

The two sample t Statistic, by using graphic calculator, is

𝑥1 − 𝑥2
𝑡= = 2.97711
𝑠12 𝑠22
+
𝑛1 𝑛2

P-value = 0.002411

Interpretation

Since the P-value is smaller than 0.01, we reject 𝐻𝑜 at 1% significant level and conclude
that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that an open and friendly environment
boosts students’ performance.

Essay question

Surprisingly, the 2 tests’ P-values make it extremely difficult to refute the educator’s
claim because the first test supports the educator while the second one does not.
Further studies/ arguments are required to draw a better conclusion. To certain extent,
students can argue that no point of doing the statistic test in this case. It’s useless!

There is no right or wrong answer but any argument against the educator should be
awarded 1 bonus mark. Note that this is exam and you have to know what the question
is looking for! Look carefully at the words in the question. The researchers are more
trustworthy!

Here are some suggested points that students may use to attack the educator:

- Consider the difficulty of the questions in the 2 papers: one is test and another is
exam.
- Consider the different between the average and the maximum score to reflect
the difficulty of the papers.
- Consider the lowest and higher scores of each group in the 2 papers.

Bonus marks will be awarded if the students state the following points which are
unrelated to the mathematical aspect:

- It’s absurd to compare student’s ability based on the test score.

- The educator may be biased toward his own students in the teaching
methodology.

About language, the use of offensive and vulgar language is encouraged to an

appropriate extent. This is due to the seriousness of the situation. Marks should not be
over emphasized in education, especially to compare students explicitly. Still, certain
respect is to be maintained while talking about the educator as he is an educator! 