Std Deviants Statistics, thanks!

I just wanted to thank those here who recommended this video series. I am just about finished tape 2 and am really finding them helpful. I knew it was going to be difficult teaching myself Statistics especially being out of school for 15 yrs or so and this is a tough subject for me for some reason. I do feel a bit more comfortable with the Std Deviants tapes though.

My only worry is understanding the exam questions. My DANTES statistics exam is scheduled for 7/28 so getting down to the wire. I am sooo afraid that I am not going to understand what they are asking for, i.e. the word problems or really I guess it is the format that the questions are asked in. I've searced the web for practice stats tests, and they have only made me feel worse as I am getting the formulas confused (i.e. variance, std dev, probability, etc). I wonder if they provide these formulas for you with the test or if you need to have them all memorized? I wouldn't imagine that they allow you to bring in any formulas either? If anyone has any advice/suggestions, that would be great.

Thanks,
Kim

 

Sorry, but statistics has never been my strength either so I don't have any great advice for you except to say that it's probably better to get a good nights sleep before the exam rather than to stay up late trying to cram some more stats formulas into your already tired brain. Good luck.
Jack

 

Not directly, that would be cheating

However, you are allowed to bring in a non-programmable calculator. The one that I used (TI BA II Plus) will calculate std deviation, permutations, combinations, mean, and a couple of others.

They will give you a couple of z-scores so you don't need to memorize that chart (that would be a good trick!).

I found the sample questions a bit easier than what I experienced on the exam, but at the same time I walked out of the exam thinking I did rather poorly but received a 71. This leads me to believe that if you know the basics well and get a few other questions right via intuitive guesses the curve will carry you to a pass.

(here's a question for you to answer that would be represented on the test - if the test score has a mean of 50 with a SD of 10, how many % of people did I beat with a score of 71?)

Rather than focus on sample tests from other sites, I'd recommend you work through a couple of sample problems for each of the categories listed in the test outline.

You may find the following useful as well:

http://degreeforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88

If you haven't registered it's free...

Cheers,
Mark

 

Re: Re: Std Deviants Statistics, thanks!

A HELL OF A LOT 99.7 ish right? (magic flowing from the old brain LOL )


peACE,

ACE

 

Good job in actually getting the Sd videos. Mark has it right on the nose. Go to www.degreeforum.com there is a great thread on this exact subject.

I haven't had any math since my last calculus class in 1982, so i can relate to being nervous about statistics. the exam was much easier than I expected. Go through the videos 2-4 times. learn the major topics; Standard deviation, empirical rule, z score, etc. Bring a non programmable calculator that can calculate square roots.

Keep studying, and you'll do fine
good luck

 

Hey thanks everyone! I have decided to keep away from the online "practice tests", they are only discouraging me. I will stick to the videos and remember to get the basics down. Will let you all know how it goes.

 

Hey Kimber3ks...

It's 11:38am on 7/28/04 right now and you are probably taking the dantes stats test as I write this. Please let us know how you did and even more importantly any helpful hints. I just had my testing center order the dantes stats test for me and I'll probably take it around 9/1.

Thanks!

 

Well, I took the DANTES statistics exam this morning. I think I was holding my own until about halfway through when I just blanked on what may have been the easier questions on the exam. I had difficulty figuring out which formula to use. There were some questions that I had absolutely "no idea" and basically tried my best educated guess. There seemed to be a lot of questions about correlation coefficient and regression lines, and there were a lot of probability questions too.

I am sooo disappointed as I left there fairly sure that I did not pass. I am going to start looking for online statistics courses, my college only has an on-campus class, which I cannot do right now.

If anyone has any suggestions of an online course, please let me know, preferably one where you do not have to go to a testing center for the final exam.

I will let you all know how I made out once I get the "official" results probably in a few wks.


Kim

 

I'd hold off looking seriously until you find out your score - I didn't think I did particularily well, but ended up with a 71 (or 2 SDs above the mean if you remember the content from the exam )

Given the difficulty, even if you only got 1/3 of the questions correct it's still very possible that you passed due to the scaling of the score, so there's always hope!

Also, even if you got 1/4 of the questions right but made some good guesses on the rest it could pull you up to a passing grade. In any case you'll know in a few weeks...good luck!

Cheers,
Mark

 

I agree with Mark,
I didn't think I aced it, but when the duist settled i got a 72. Actually I got a 68 or 69, Mark beat me. Keep your chin up, remember that almost everyone who takes it thinks its really hard. I was on pins and needles for 3 weeks until my score came, and Mark was right. Good luck.

 

OK, Mark and Ultimale, will try to keep my hopes alive based on what you guys have experienced

So, tell me, what is the minimum score that you have to get in order to pass and what exactly is this "curve" that they grade you on?

If I understand correctly, Mark stated that it might be possible to pass with getting as little as 1/3 of the 97 questions correct?Hmmm, so roughly that would be 35ish, right? Hmmp, maybe I CAN pass!

PS..how long did it take you to get your scores?

Thanks for the uplifting...wheesh, I really needed it after that!!

Kim

 

The way I understand the DANTES scoring is that they shoot for a mean score of 50 for each Statistics test paper with a SD of 10.

Let's say that out of 100 (to round up ) questions the average person only got 1/2 right. Therefore, they would scale the score in such a way that the mean would be 50/80 with a SD of 10 (meaning that over 80% of the responses were between 40 and 60).

I can't find what the Excelsior cut score is for this (after the site redesign it seems that many publications are no longer available) but it's probably something like 45-47 - in other words, below the mean. Again, depending on the distribution, it's possible that you'd fit within the "curve" even if you got a low RAW score but got a passing SCALED score.

Stats seems to be a difficult exam - I doubt highly that I got over 75% of the questions right, yet according to my score I beat out well over 95% of the exam takers. Therefore, it's possible that the mean RAW score may be even less than 50/100 - working in your favor.

This is the reason why you should never count yourself out until you receive your score (which is probably about 3 weeks down the road). I just got my last DANTES result yesterday (Intro to Law Enforcement - a 65, so 3 more credits!) and took it less than 3 weeks ago.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Hopefully your score will come back high enough to pass! Thanks for the hints about correlation coefficient and regression lines.

 

UPDATE

Well, I got my results today. Unfortunately, I missed passing by "2 POINTS", unbelievable. I am speechless.

Wondering what to do from this point? Is it worth taking again, or should I just find an online stats course? Of course considering time, money, aggravation involved. So very bummed right now.......sigh, sigh,

Kim