100 word response 1 reference/intext citation Due 8/11/2024
Harris
There are two main kinds of statistics: descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics help us understand the basic features of a dataset. They give us things like averages, middle values, most common values, how spread out the data is, and the range of values. For the Miami Gardens PAL program, descriptive statistics is used to find the average GPA of participants, the percent of kids who are getting better grades, or how many hours kids spend in the program each week.
Inferential statistics help us make educated guesses about a larger group based on a smaller sample of data. They help us figure out if the program is really working or if the results are just due to random chance. Inferential statistics include tests like the t-test and tools like confidence intervals. For example, we could use a t-test to see if PAL kids have significantly higher GPAs than kids who aren’t in the program. Or, we could use a confidence interval to estimate the range of GPAs for all kids in the program.
For the Miami Gardens PAL program, we need both kinds of statistics. Descriptive statistics give us a quick look at what’s going on, like who’s participating, what services are being used, and what outcomes we’re seeing. Inferential statistics let us make more detailed conclusions, like whether the program is really improving grades or changing how kids see police. For example, we could make a bar graph to compare the average GPA of PAL kids to non-PAL kids, or a line graph to show how GPAs are changing over time. A heatmap could show us how different things, like time spent in the program and grade improvement, are related.
Usually, by using both kinds of statistics and the right tools, we can get a full picture of how well a program is working and where it can get better. For the Miami Gardens PAL program, statistics can highlight what’s working and what needs improvement, helping the program build leaders and bring police and communities together.
