Exploration of Bachelor Degree Statistics:
AN ALGEBRA 2 PROJECT

Data Source: National Center for Education Statistics
<http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d00/dt265.asp>
[ Click to go to the GDC Version of this Project ]

Question: Are higher educational degrees being awarded to US citizens from various racial/ethnic groups at different rates from those in the general population?

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Project Requirements:

1. From the data table provided (in class, for web version go to link) on the number of Bachelor's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by racial/ethnic group and sex of student: 1976-77 to 1997-98, extract from the table the data for a racial/ethnic group and reorganize the data into a smaller, easier to read format. Your table should include the year the degree was awarded and the number of degrees for the racial/ethnic group. Use only the years (ended) from 1989 through 1998. Round the number of degrees to three-significant figures. [For example, 917,900 would round to 918,000; while 18,743 rounds to 18,700.]
   
   Sample Table:
   

   Year	Bachelor DegreesAwarded to Hispanic Women
   1989	16,000
   1990	17,900
   ...	...
   1998	38,300

   
   
2. Calculate the arithmetic mean of the years and the mean number of degrees awarded.
    
3. Plot the data from your table as a scatter plot (by hand). Use the horizontal x-axis for the years and the vertical y-axis for the number of degrees. Include the "mean number of years" and the "mean number of degrees awarded." Label this point as .
   
4. Does the data follow a linear pattern? In your judgment, is there a high or low correlation? Hopefully, there is a linear pattern (since we have yet to study patterns with greater complexity than linear relations). Fit a line of best fit to the data. The best-fit line must pass through the point . Calculate the slope of the line and the equation of the line. Express your prediction model as a function.
    
5. Use your prediction model equation to make a prediction of how many people from the group you studied will earn bachelor's degrees this year.
    
6. Repeat steps 1 - 5 using a different racial/ethnic group. Keep these tables and graphs separate from the first set.
    
7. Repeat steps 1 - 5 using the number of degrees awarded for the total population (column 2 on the data sheet). Again, keep these tables and graphs separate from the first set.
    
8. Answer our original question: Are higher educational degrees being awarded to US citizens from various racial/ethnic groups at different rates from those in the general population? To do this, divide the slope of each of your prediction equations by the number of degrees awarded for the group in the final year of the data set (1998).
    
9. Research: Using appropriate research materials (all resources must be cited), write a one-page, typed (or two pages if hand-written) short essay on the following topic: What subject would you most want to study after leaving high school? Include in your essay some specifics: what colleges are you considering, what major, what are the current financial costs, what career options will that degree open up for you, and so on. [Suggestion: For go to my "College Info" web page for possible research ideas.]

[Style Requirements for your typed paper: double-spaced, standard margins, Font: Times New Roman, regular style, size 12]

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A Worked Example

For a "worked example" of this activity (finding a line of regression / best-fit line and creating a prediction model for the data, see the example with the Exploration of Hurricane Data Project.

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