Question: The effort to reward city students for passing Advanced Placement tests is part o f a growing trend nationally and internationally. Financial incentives are offered in order to lift attendance and achievement rates. One such program in Dallas, Texas, offers $100 for every Advanced Placement test on which a student scores a three or higher (Reuters, September 20, 2010). A wealthy entrepreneur decides to experiment with the same idea of rewarding students to enhance performance, but in Chicago. He offers monetary incentives to students at an inner-city high school. Due to this incentive, 122 students take the A dvancement Placement tests. Twelve tests are scored at 5, the highest possible score. There are 49 tests with scores of 3 and 4, and 61 tests with failing scores of 1 and 2. Historically, about 100 of these tests are taken at this school each year, w here 8% score 5, 3 8 % score 3 and 4, and the remaining are failing scores of 1 and 2. In a report, use the sample information to:
1. Provide a descriptive analysis of student achievement on Advanced Placement before and after the monetary incentive is offered.
2. Conduct a hypothesis test that determines, at the 5% significance level, whether the monetary incentive has resulted in a higher proportion of scores of 5, the highest possible score.
3. At the 5% significance level, has the monetary incentive decreased the proportion of failing scores of 1 and 2?
4. Assess the effectiveness of monetary incentives in improving student achievement.