Project Title

An investigation into the effect that being in a relationship has on a student’s academic
performance, depending on their gender.
Introduction

Table of Contents
Project Title........................................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 2

Method of Data Collection............................................................................................................................ 3

Presentation of Data....................................................................................................................................... 4

Analysis of Data................................................................................................................................................ 8

Discussion of Findings................................................................................................................................... 9

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................................... 10

References....................................................................................................................................................... 11

Appendix.......................................................................................................................................................... 12

Parents and teachers normally frown on their children or students dating or being
involved in a romantic relationship citing that it would be a distraction for the student. This
they say would “bring down their grades”.
However in stark contradiction to this the boy who places first in my class is on his fifth
girlfriend for the year. As a CSEC Mathematics student I know that this one anecdotal piece
of evidence doesn’t statistically mean being in many relationship results in good grades.

The purpose of this project is to look for and analyze patterns between being in a
relationship and a form five student’s average academic performance. Additionally
any difference in performance with respect to student gender will also be
investigated.
Method of Data Collection

A questionnaire was created and handed out to form five students in my school. Data
was captured from fifty (50) form five students. Twenty-five (25) of the participants were
male and the other half female.

In addition permission was granted by the form five form teachers to peruse the
Academic Records of participating students for the year 2018.
Presentation of Data

After the raw data was collected from the questionnaires and records the information
was arranged into tables as follows:

Table 1: Average Percentage of Table 2: Average Percentage of Male

¿ ( ∑ of marks for boys NOT ∈relationships ) ÷ number of boys counted¿ 1027 ÷ 14¿ 66.1 %

Average mark of a Boy in a relationship

¿ ( ∑ of marks for boys ∈a relationship ) ÷ number of boys counted¿ 704 ÷ 11¿ 64 %

Average mark of a Girl NOT in a relationship

¿ ( ∑ of marks of girls NOT ∈relationships ) ÷ number of girls counted¿ 870 ÷ 12¿ 72.5 %

Average mark of a Girl in a relationship

¿ ( ∑ of marks of girls ∈relationships ) ÷number ofgirls counted¿ 767 ÷ 13¿ 59 %

75

72.5
70

66.1
Average Mark %

65
64 Not in a relationship
In a relationship
60
59

55

50
BOYS GIRLS
Further information from the questionnaires was tabulated as follows:

Table 3: Number of Relationships Compared to Percentage of Student

Number of
Relationships Percentage
6 90
1 80
1 78
2 77
3 76
1 73
2 72
4 72
3 70
1 70
2 69
1 66
1 63
1 61
1 61
6 61
2 59
4 55
6 48
1 45
7 41
2 30
9 29
1 25
Note. Students who were not in a relationship have been excluded from this table.
 Information from Table three was converted to an X-Y graph using a scatter plot
method and the Trending Line Included.

Graph 1 : Scatter Plot of Student Percentage against Number of Relationships

100
90
80
70
60
Percentage

50
40 Percentage
Linear (Percentage)
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Relationships

Gradient of Trending Line in above graph

Using points (1, 65) and (9, 48)

y 2− y 1
Gradient=
x 2−x 1

48−65
Gradient=
9−1

−17
Gradient=
8

Gradient=−2.125
Analysis of Data

From Table One and Table Two it was seen that the data represented a wide range of
percentages.
Range in Table One = 88 −29 = 59 %
Range in Table Two = 90 − 27 = 63 %

In the Comparative Bar Graph there is a noticeable difference in the performance of

Boys in a relationship average 64% in exams but average 66.1% if they are not in a
relationship. This is a 2.1% increase in Marks.
Girls in a relationship average 59% in exams but average 72.5% if they are not in a
relationship. This is a 13.5% increase in Marks.
On average the grades of girls fall by 11.4 more marks than boys when they enter into
relationships.

Table Three lists the number of relationships the students who said yes had already
been in and shows their corresponding averages in the exam. Graph 1 uses this
information to form a trending line between percentages and number of relationships
which displayed a negative gradient which was -2.125.
Discussion of Findings

The wide range of data received from the survey suggests that the sample size is
adequate for appropriate conclusions to be drawn from the Presentation of Data.
The claim by Teachers and Parents that being in a relationship can have a negative
effect on your grades was proven true by this project. Although there were some outliers in
the survey the average drops for both boys and girls in a relationship by 2.1% and 13.5%
respectively. Girls do. The data revealed that girls perform better than boys on average
however when they enter into relationships their grades fall by an 11.4% more than boys.

In addition, from the analysis, a gradient of 2.125% was found in a graph of percentage
against number of relationships. This means that for every additional relationship a
student has their percentage, by statistical average, drops by 2.125 %.
Conclusion

This research shows that the claim that a student’s percentage falls when entering into
a relationship is valid for Form Five Students of my school. The drop in percentage is 2.1%
for boys and 13.5% for girls. Exam marks for girls are more negatively affected (11.4%)
than boys when in a relationship. Additionally in this investigation there was a fall of 2.125
% in exams for every additional relationship a student had.
References

Steele, Glendon, The Essential Mathematics SBA Handbook: A guide for CSEC
examination.
Genesis Books.

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Questionnaire (Form Five SBA)

Information on this short survey will be kept anonymous… Please answer all questions
correctly to the best of your ability.

1. What form are you in?

2. Have you been in a relationship during the past exam?

3. How many relationships have you been in?

4. What was the average percentage for your last exam?

DISCLAIMER:
This project was created for resource purposes only. While I love to help
students I don’t want you to “short-change” the learning experience by plagiarizing my
work wholesale. Enjoy responsibly.

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Kerwin Springer.