Question

A large school district notices that about 26% of its sophomore students fail Algebra I. An online education supplier suggests the district try its new technology software, which is designed to improve Algebra 1 skills and, thus, decrease the number of students who fail the course. The new technology software is quite expensive, so the company offers a free, one-year trial period to determine whether the Algebra 1 pass rate improves. If it works, the district will pay for continued use of the software. What would happen if the school district makes a Type I error

Answer 1

In the case of a Type I error, the null hypothesis would be wrongly rejected and the school district will conclude that the new technology is effective when it is not.

They will start to pay for the software when in fact it does not improve Algebra 1 skills.

Explanation:

A Type I error happens when a true null hypothesis is rejected.

The probability of a Type I error is equal to the significance level, as it is the probabilty of getting an sample result with low probability but only due to chance, as the null hypothesis is in fact true.

In this scenario, the null hypothesis would represent the claim that the new technology does not make significant improvement.

In the case of a Type I error, this null hypothesis would be wrongly rejected and the school district will conclude that the new technology is effective when it is not.

They will start to pay for the software when in fact it does not improve Algebra 1 skills.