Section II (15 points) Since 2010, the educational landscape in England has radically altered. The Academies Act of 2010 was rapidly put in place two months after the election of the new government. This completely unexpected policy change offered primary schools the chance to have the freedom and the power to take control of their own destiny', with better performing schools given a green light to fast track convert to become an academy school. Schools that become academies have more freedom over many ways in which they operate, including curriculum design, budgets, staffing issues and the shape of the academic year. Academies became a school structure to which all schools were invited to become, with better performing schools being given priority to convert. By 2017, over a fifth of primary schools are academies. This educational reform has engpuntered fierce resistance from the educational establishment. Further, evaluation studies found that early participating schools did change their mode of operation, utilizing more autonomy and changing spending behavior, but this did not lead to improved pupil performance. One might hypothesize that schools which volunteered to convert to academy status early-on are those that were most amenable to academy status, anticipating positive benefits. If effects are not found for such schools, one might question whether it is such a good idea to continue this reform and to extend it to schools that are less enthusiastic. Given this undesirable reform outcome, running an experiment before nationwide reform seems to be a wonderful idea. Suppose time could go back to 2010 and the UK government decided to have an experiment to evaluate academization, and you were designated as a member of the important task force to design and conduct this experiment. In the UK, at the end of primary school in grade 6, pupils take national tests in reading and math, which are externally set and marked on a scale of 1-100. The experiment may use the grade 6 national tests as measurements of academic performance. Elaborate on your proposal as a member of the task force. You may choose to discuss random sampling design, sample size (you have the concern of cost if the sample is too big: in the meanwhile, you have the concern of lack of statistical significance if the sample is too small). hypothesis setting, size of the test (the alpha level) or other statistical issues you think to be important for such an experiment. It is important to communicate the rationale behind every aspect of your decision. Section II (15 points) Since 2010, the educational landscape in England has radically altered. The Academies Act of 2010 was rapidly put in place two months after the election of the new government. This completely unexpected policy change offered primary schools the chance to have the freedom and the power to take control of their own destiny', with better performing schools given a green light to fast track convert to become an academy school. Schools that become academies have more freedom over many ways in which they operate, including curriculum design, budgets, staffing issues and the shape of the academic year. Academies became a school structure to which all schools were invited to become, with better performing schools being given priority to convert. By 2017, over a fifth of primary schools are academies. This educational reform has engpuntered fierce resistance from the educational establishment. Further, evaluation studies found that early participating schools did change their mode of operation, utilizing more autonomy and changing spending behavior, but this did not lead to improved pupil performance. One might hypothesize that schools which volunteered to convert to academy status early-on are those that were most amenable to academy status, anticipating positive benefits. If effects are not found for such schools, one might question whether it is such a good idea to continue this reform and to extend it to schools that are less enthusiastic. Given this undesirable reform outcome, running an experiment before nationwide reform seems to be a wonderful idea. Suppose time could go back to 2010 and the UK government decided to have an experiment to evaluate academization, and you were designated as a member of the important task force to design and conduct this experiment. In the UK, at the end of primary school in grade 6, pupils take national tests in reading and math, which are externally set and marked on a scale of 1-100. The experiment may use the grade 6 national tests as measurements of academic performance. Elaborate on your proposal as a member of the task force. You may choose to discuss random sampling design, sample size (you have the concern of cost if the sample is too big: in the meanwhile, you have the concern of lack of statistical significance if the sample is too small). hypothesis setting, size of the test (the alpha level) or other statistical issues you think to be important for such an experiment. It is important to communicate the rationale behind every aspect of your decision