Khunal Parkash

Mr. Kiker 2nd period

September 7, 2014

!
!

Regression Project

Thinking of skipping college? Getting a job straight after high school? Then this data might
be interesting to you! This data interested me as it probably will interest a lot of high schoolers.
Who hasnt thought of skipping the next four difficult years and joining the workforce. This
Regression project compares High school graduation rates versus the unemployment rate of
people who have a high school education. This data shows how larger competition is not
beneficial for the people applying for the job. As a larger percentage of the population graduates
high school and do not proceed to a higher education, a larger percentage become unemployed.

High School Education vs Employment

Unemploy
-ment
rate
(High
school
educated)

High School Graduation Rate

REGRESSION PROJECT

"1

Above you will find a graph that shows high school graduation rates versus unemployment
rates of high school educated adults. We can see as more people graduate high school more of
the very same people become unemployed as a direct result in there being more people that can
fill jobs that high school educated citizens are qualified to do. Below you will find my regression
equation, the exponential regression parent function. I chose it because it gave the largest R

value. As well as its line seemed to be the most accurate as it crossed the most points. The R
value explains the accuracy of future predictions using this equation. It shows the explained
variation / the total variation. In my case it is .823 a relatively high number which makes my
predictions close to the actual results. The highest possible number being 1.
My slope is confined because both my statistics are percentages as such they can only go
from 0 to 100. But it shows that as graduation rates get higher the unemployment of high school
graduates gets higher. My graph does not really have a Y-intercept due to the fact that both
variables are percentages.
To really understand my regression equation and its subsequent R value you must first
understand what regression is. Regression is the relationship between a dependent variable and
REGRESSION PROJECT

"2

an independent variable. As such a value of 1.00 is perfect as it means that it can perfectly
predict future variables. Though since my R value equates only to .823 I cant guarantee such
precision. But that is the case when measuring real world variables. In a laboratory setting we can
control what effects what, but in the real world we have many variables.
My predications are as follows: If 62% of Americans graduate high school there will be
only 1% unemployed high school graduates. If 74% of Americans graduate high school there
will only be 5.5% unemployed high school graduates. If 82% of Americans graduate high school
there will be 16.4% unemployed high school graduates. The X values are the percent of high
schoolers graduating while the Y-values are the percentage of high school educated adults who
are unemployed.
One very important career that could use this data: High school counselors. These
individuals design our path through high school, a very important time in the life of an
American. They also help us decide on our lives after high school. They can use this data to
better sculpt the path of the lives of the students they are entrusted.
In conclusion this data shows that as graduation rates get higher so do unemployment rates.
It shows that there are more people then jobs to fill and as such the job market can only get more
competitive. Even with limited data that a student like me can get we can see that this is a
problem that needs to fixed.

REGRESSION PROJECT

"3

Works Cited:
Averaged Graduation Rates. National Center for Education Statistics. US department of
Education , n.d. Web. 2012.
Unemployment Rate - High School Graduates, No College, 25 yrs. & over. Bureau of
Labor Services. United States department of Labor, n.d. Web. Aug 2014.

REGRESSION PROJECT

"4