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Descriptive Statistics Paper
Descriptive Statistics of Student GPA by Class Time
Juan Zapata
Rabaab Master
April 05 2026
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Introduction
Patterns in student performance are important in understanding the impact of different
learning environments on students’ success. This can be evaluated with descriptive statistics
which provide a summary of data using means, medians, and modes. This study is examining
the GPA of a Friday Hybrid class and a 3:00 PM class. Comparing these two classes allows
us to observe similarities and differences in academic performance. The analysis uses
measures of central tendency and frequency distributions to describe the data.
Method / Variables (Chapter 2)
The independent variable (IV) in this study is the type of class, which is qualitative and
includes two groups: Friday Hybrid and 3:00 PM classes.
The dependent variable (DV) is student GPA, which is quantitative and measured in grade
points (on a GPA scale).
The data were obtained from a provided dataset and analyzed using descriptive statistical
methods.
Results
Frequency Distributions (Chapter 4)
Frequency charts were created for both groups.
The Friday Hybrid group shows a wider spread of GPA values, indicating greater variability
in student performance.
In contrast, the 3:00 PM group appears to have more clustered GPA scores, suggesting more
consistency among students.
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Measures of Central Tendency (Chapter 5)
Descriptive statistics for both groups are shown in tables below.
Friday Hybrid Class
Mean = 6.50
Median = 3.57
Mode = 3.8 and 4.0
3:00 PM Class
Mean = 6.49
Median =3.00
Mode = 2.8 and 3.0
Interpretation (Friday Hybrid Group)
The class in Friday Hybrid had a higher median score than the 3:00 PM class, suggesting that
average student performance was slightly better in this class. There are two modes, meaning
that GPA scores are in two groups and vary across the group. The higher mean indicates
some unusually high scores may be impacting the average.
Interpretation (3:00 PM Group)
The 3:00 PM class has a lower median, which may indicate that the typical performance is
slightly lower than for the Friday Hybrid group. The mode values indicate that most students
have a GPA between 2.8 and 3.0. The mean is similar to the Friday Hybrid group, suggesting
that there are extremes in the average.
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Bar Chart for Friday Hybrid
4 2
1
3.8 2
1
3.6 1
1
3.5 1
1
GPA
3.3 1
1
3.1 1
1
2.5 1
1
1.8 1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Frequency
GPA Frequency
1.8 1
2.08 1
2.5 1
3 1
3.1 1
3.2 1
3.3 1
3.4 1
3.5 1
3.57 1
3.6 1
3.7 1
3.8 2
3.9 1
4 2
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3:00 PM GPA Distribution
3.4 1
3.3 1
3.2 1
3.1 1
3 2
2.9 1
2.8 2
GPA
2.7 1
2.6 1
2.5 2
2.34 1
2 1
1.5 1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Frequency
GPA Frequency
1.5 1
2 1
2.34 1
2.5 2
2.6 1
2.7 1
2.8 2
2.9 1
3 2
3.1 1
3.2 1
3.3 1
3.4 1
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Conclusion
This analysis contrasted the distribution of GPA between a Friday Hybrid class and a 3:00
PM class using descriptive statistics. The groups had similar mean GPAs, but their medians
and modes showed the differences in average performance and distribution. The Friday
Hybrid group had slightly higher central values and more variability, while the 3:00 PM
group appeared more consistent. These findings show the value of using multiple measures of
central tendency in interpreting data, as relying solely on the mean can be too simplistic.