Fix It Mrs. Ballard Is a High School Teacher Who Hypothesizes That

Essay

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Mrs. Ballard is a high school teacher who hypothesizes that kids involved in extracurricular activities perform better academically. She decides to examine the most recent graduates of the high school where she works. She obtains two measures for all 176 graduates: final GPA, and how many extracurricular activities they participated in throughout their 4 years in school. She analyzes the data using Pearson's r and finds a statistically significant relationship (r(174) = -.78, p < .05). She presents the results to the principal of the school and argues that students should be required to participate in at least two extracurricular activities each year. The principle looks at the results of the study and informs Mrs. Ballard she is mistaken. Mrs. Ballard is confused because the results revealed a statistically significant relationship between the two variables.
Discuss Mrs. Ballard's hypothesis. Why do you think the principal disagrees with Mrs. Ballard's conclusion? Fix it!