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Students From States With Faster Internet Tend To Have Higher Test Scores

Posted by Soulskill on from the in-before-correlation-!=-causation dept.

An anonymous reader sends word of correlation found between higher internet speeds and higher test scores. Quoting: The numbers—first crunched by the Internet provider comparison site HSI — show a distinct trend between faster Internet and higher ACT test scores. On the high end, Massachusetts scores big with an average Internet speed of 13.1Mbps, and an average ACT test score of 24.1. Mississippi, on the other hand, has an average speed of just 7.6Mbps and an average score of 18.9.

In between those two states, the other 48 fall in a positive correlation that, while not perfect, is quite undeniable. According to HSI's Edwin Ivanauskas, the correlation is stronger than that between household income and test scores, which have long been considered to be firmly connected to each other. The ACT scores were gathered from ACT.org, which has the official rankings and averages for the 2013 test, and the speed ratings were taken from Internet analytics firm Akamai's latest report.

7 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Simple conclusion.... by wbr1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Faster internet access means faster internet search results when cheating. Therefore the internet should be banned. /s

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  2. Cheating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Cheating over dial-up sucks!

  3. Correlation is not causation by mcl630 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The usual /. refrain of correlation is not causation definately applies here. Mississippi had low test scores long before broadband Internet came along.

    1. Re:Correlation is not causation by bobbied · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Maybe - smarter people have faster internet ?

      Naw, My connection is 25Mbps/25Mbps (Up from 5Mbps/2Mbps) and I didn't get any smarter.... In fact, I sometimes think it was a dumb move as my wallet sure seems lighter these days.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Correlation is not causation by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Who woulda done thunk that one of the poorest states in the Union would also have shitty broadband and shitty test scores? I bet they have crazy high infant mortality, shitty health in general, and a high per-capita crime rate too.

      Maybe the high infant mortality rate is what caused the shitty broadband.

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      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    3. Re:Correlation is not causation by DigiShaman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Low income means that parent[s] need to work longer hours and spend less time with their children. Family time has a profound impact on education.

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      Life is not for the lazy.
  4. Fatally flawed study by twistedcubic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The students who take the ACT are not necessarily representative of the state's population. For example, I took the SAT, and not the ACT, because all the colleges I applied to accepted SAT results, but not all accepted ACT results. Students who were going to the local state school just took the ACT alone. I bet the reverse is true in different states. It doesn't take much thought to see these results are totally meaningless.