The High School Statistician

It’s no secret that college is pricey these days. Yet, some people do not truly comprehend how much it has increased. The causes are pretty apparent. The most elegant way to put it, According to Forbes.com is, “If you artificially inflate demand for something and don't let supply adjust, prices will go up.” To put it in non-economical lingo, if everyone wants more of something and you don’t create more, the cost of what already exists will go up drastically as there is less to go around for an increasing amount of people. Data from the college board shows the trend over the course of 35-36 years. Feel free to leave a comment! Sources: Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. "The Reason Why College Is So Expensive Is Actually Dead Obvious." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 July 2017. "Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time, 1976-77 to 2016-17, Selected Years." Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time, 1976-77 to 2016-17...

What is Common Core Doing? It’s time to face reality. Common core was a program of study designed to create people who were able to assimilate information on the most basic level. They were given enough knowledge to be able to read a text and do some basic math. However, the job market has changed. Companies require people who can analyze numbers and texts in order to take decisions. Yet the education system in place is still designed to produce face value comprehension skills. There is something really wrong in this approach. The Washington Post has pointed out that ever since common core was implemented, dropout rates have increased from 15% to 30%.  U.S. Secretary of Education John King himself has conceded that this system is designed such that 70% of students will fail. A Huffington Post article says, “In 2013, 39% of students were considered ready for college math and 38% were prepared for college-level reading. But in 2015, only 37% were prepared for college”. Why then a...

Are AP Students Really More Likely to Succeed in College? College is right around the corner for many high school seniors, so I thought it was time to really check whether or not students who take college courses in high school (Specifically AP) are more likely to succeed in college. Turns out this is true! College Board states that students who take AP courses are more likely to declare and stick with a major earlier than the average high school student entering college. People seem to have caught up to the idea as can be seen by the graph below. It has been noted that in the past few decades, college tuition prices have gone up on average 1,200% and since most college students don’t graduate on time, they further debt and aren’t able to pay off loans on time. However most AP students do graduate on time, thereby making them better contributors to the economy and more reliable to influence new generations in a positive manner. Sources: https://research.collegeboard...