Principal Watkins is conducting a study on student achievement at North Middle School. The school has 120 sixth graders, 120 seventh graders, and 185 eighth graders. Principal Watkins plans to randomly select 30 sixth graders, 30 seventh graders, and 30 eighth graders to participate in the study.

Question

Will Principal Watkins be able to form generalizations about the school population based on the sample?

A.
no, because there were not enough students selected from eighth grade

B.
yes, because the same number of students were selected from each grade

C.
no, because all 425 students from the school should have been selected

D.
yes, because the students were randomly selected by the principal

Answer 1

The best answer is:

D. yes, because the students were randomly selected by the principal.

Random selection helps ensure that the sample is representative of the larger school population, which allows for generalizations to be made about the student body as a whole. While it is true that 30 seventh graders and sixth graders are selected compared to a larger population of eighth graders, randomness in selection allows for unbiased representation from each grade level.