Is Your GPA Dependent on Where You Park?
A final statistics project by four Darien High School senior girls
By Julia Cobb- 11/09
More by Julia Cobb
NEIRAD enilno edition
Darien High School seniors Cecillia Lee, Stephanie Winsch, Amanda Brodsky, and Jennifer Selensky concluded their senior year with an interesting Statistics project. They sought to determine if there was a relationship between where a senior parks and his or her GPA. The girls’ project idea was inspired by a Neirad article written in September of 2010 by Meg Murphy. The Neirad article was entitled “Parking Lot Looking Fly”, and in the article Murphy stated that “it is uncommon to see cars using the 50 spots around the [back of the] loop.” The girls endeavored to determine if students who used these spots had similar GPAs.
They used the χ2 Test for Association to investigate their hypothesis. They first numbered a list of seniors that have parking permits and drive to school. Then, they divided the school’s parking lots into three sections: the football field and music rooms, the loop near the main entrance, and the faculty and student lot near the library. After that, they counted the number of spots within each section. The girls randomly selected 65 students and had each of them fill out an anonymous survey. The survey asked the students what their GPA was and where they normally chose to park. Ultimately, the girls used these survey results to determine the median GPA for each parking area. The data showed for last year’s senior class that there is no significant association between where a student parks in the high school parking lot and what her GPA is. However, when this year’s incoming senior class begins to drive to Darien High School, will the answer be the same? Where will you choose to park?
