Question

Select the correct answer. Activists in a state are campaigning for their state government to increase the percentage of revenue it spends on education. The activists’ main argument is that increased spending will improve proficiency levels among students. A newspaper columnist is drafting an opinion piece to argue against the activists’ suggestion. Which findings, if true, would support the columnist’s argument? A. a strong positive correlation between education expenditure and students’ proficiency levels across many states B. the absence of a correlation between education expenditure and students’ proficiency levels across many states C. the absence of a correlation between proficiency levels in different states when plotted as a time series D. a positive correlation between education expenditure levels in different states when plotted as a time series

Answer 1

Answer:

B. the absence of a correlation between education expenditure and students’ proficiency levels across many states

Explanation:

Absence of correlation between the two variables means that when an statistcal analysis is made, the correlation coefficient between education expenditure and students' proficiency levels is 0 or very close to 0. The scatter plot in this situation would look unclear, with points dispersed accross the graph.

In this situation, no clear relationship would be established between the two variables, which would support the newspaper columnist argument.