Chapter 12, Problem 23E

(a)

To determine

To explain do you think responses to these two questions might differ and how and what kind of bias is this.

Answer to Problem 23E

Yes, the questions will differ and this is the wording bias.

Explanation of Solution

It is given in the question that in a large school system with twenty elementary schools, the school board is considering the adoption of a new policy that would require elementary students to pass a test in order to promoted to next grade. In this only, now, four new sampling strategy have been proposed to help the PTA determine whether parents favor enquiring for the test. Thus, the two question were asked seeking parents opinion that are given. Thus, we think that the two question will differ from each other because Question $1$ will likely get many "No" answers while Question $2$ will get many "Yes" answers. This is the kind of wording bias.

(b)

To determine

To propose a question with more neutral wordings that might better assess parental opinion.

Explanation of Solution

It is given in the question that in a large school system with twenty elementary schools, the school board is considering the adoption of a new policy that would require elementary students to pass a test in order to promoted to next grade. In this only, now, four new sampling strategy have been proposed to help the PTA determine whether parents favor enquiring for the test. Thus, the two question were asked seeking parents opinion that are given. Thus, a question with more neutral wordings that might better assess parental opinion will be that “Do you think standardized tests are appropriate for deciding whether a student should be promoted to the next grade?”.