Introduction to Experimental Design

AP Statistics· difficulty 2/5

A teacher wants to test whether a new study app improves test scores. She has 40 students use the app and measures their improvement from a pretest to a posttest.

40 students Pretest Use app Posttest No control group for comparison!

What is the most important missing element of this experiment?

  • A

    A control group not using the app

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  • B

    Stratification by gender

  • C

    A larger sample size

  • D

    Voluntary response

Explanation

Without a control group, improvement cannot be attributed to the app rather than to retesting, normal learning, or other factors. A control group is essential for comparison.

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