Students From States With Faster Internet Tend To Have Higher Test Scores 175
An anonymous reader sends word of correlation found between higher internet speeds and higher test scores. Quoting:
The numbers—first crunched by the Internet provider comparison site HSI — show a distinct trend between faster Internet and higher ACT test scores. On the high end, Massachusetts scores big with an average Internet speed of 13.1Mbps, and an average ACT test score of 24.1. Mississippi, on the other hand, has an average speed of just 7.6Mbps and an average score of 18.9.
In between those two states, the other 48 fall in a positive correlation that, while not perfect, is quite undeniable. According to HSI's Edwin Ivanauskas, the correlation is stronger than that between household income and test scores, which have long been considered to be firmly connected to each other. The ACT scores were gathered from ACT.org, which has the official rankings and averages for the 2013 test, and the speed ratings were taken from Internet analytics firm Akamai's latest report.
In between those two states, the other 48 fall in a positive correlation that, while not perfect, is quite undeniable. According to HSI's Edwin Ivanauskas, the correlation is stronger than that between household income and test scores, which have long been considered to be firmly connected to each other. The ACT scores were gathered from ACT.org, which has the official rankings and averages for the 2013 test, and the speed ratings were taken from Internet analytics firm Akamai's latest report.
Re:sorry (Score:5, Informative)
I mean somehow I doubt better access to broadband is going to solve Mississippi's education problems. I'm willing to bet Massachusetts kids were trouncing Mississippi kids long before the internet came along.
Re:sorry (Score:4, Informative)
True.
Back in '92, Mississippi was at the absolute bottom 50 of 50 in basic prose literacy. [Sates with high immigration have since pushed them up to #42..]
In '92, Mass was in the middle of the pack, at about half as many illiterate residents.
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estima... [ed.gov]
Re:Correlation is not causation (Score:5, Informative)
You think Georgia doesn't have a lot of immigrants? It's got a higher percentage than New Mexico (9.5% [migrationpolicy.org] vs 9.2% [migrationpolicy.org])!
Re:Correlation is not causation (Score:3, Informative)
Correlation does not imply causation, but causation does imply correlation.
If A causes B, then A will also correlate with B. It's only the reverse that's false. (A correlating with B doesn't mean A causes B).
Re:Correlation is not causation (Score:4, Informative)
Per capita violent crime in MS ranks considerably below the national average (299 per 100K as opposed to 474 nationally (2006 figures)).
Massachusetts, New York, and California all have violent crime rates rather higher than the national average....
As does the District of Columbia (over three times the national average, nearly twice that of the highest State).