DSRT 734: Comparing Midterm and Final Exam Scores in JASP

DSRT 734 Question

A teacher wants to know if there is a difference between student's
mid-term exam scores and final exam scores in a business course. The
attached dataset has both scores for each student in her class of
50 students. Save the following dataset to your computer and open it
in JASP. Perform the correct t-test to see if the scores for the
student’s first exam are different than their scores on the final.
Copy and paste your JASP output into your answer AND write your
conclusion in APA format.

What this question assesses

This assignment assesses recognition of repeated measurements on the same students and the ability to analyze within-person score differences rather than treating the midterm and final as unrelated samples.

How to approach this type of question

The dataset is required to calculate any result. When it is available, confirm that each row represents one student and that midterm and final scores occupy separate numeric columns. Preserve row pairing during import; deleting or sorting one score column independently would invalidate the design. Examine the distribution of within-student differences, because assumptions apply to those differences rather than to each score column in isolation. In JASP, select the paired comparison workflow, assign the two score variables as a pair, and request descriptives, the test result, and a useful visualization of differences if the course permits it. Record the analyzed pair count and investigate missing values that reduce it from the stated class size. An APA plan should include both measurement occasions, descriptive summaries, the inferential statistic, degrees of freedom, p-value, and a bounded direction statement. No score difference, output table, or final conclusion is recoverable without the attachment.

Use a pairing audit before analysis: select several rows and confirm that each midterm score remains aligned with the same student’s final score. Document whether absent scores cause pairwise exclusion. A useful output checklist includes the mean and standard deviation at both occasions, the mean change when available, the test statistic, degrees of freedom, p-value, and a confidence interval. The conclusion should concern the sampled course records and should not attribute a change to an unmeasured cause.

Related DSRT 734 questions

• DSRT 734: Comparing Teacher Evaluations Before and After Training
• DSRT 734: Reporting a Paired-Samples T-Test in APA Format
• DSRT 734: Comparing Employee Knowledge Before and After Training in JASP

Related DSRT 734 resources

• University of the Cumberlands course resources
• DSRT 734 Inferential Statistics in Decision-Making
• DSRT 734 Questions: Inferential Statistics in Decision-Making
• How to Choose an Inferential Statistical Test