Reporting With Numbers

1) A local college releases figures showing that its total budget is $120 million. Of that total, $80 million comes from the state, $6 million from student tuition, and the remaining $34 million from fees, grants and gifts.

* Figure the percentage of the college’s budget that comes from each source.
State: 66% Student Tuition: 5% Fees, grants, and gifts: 28%

* Identify the significance of each funding source (the most vs. the least, etc.).
The most significant source of funding comes from the state and the least significant comes from tuition.

* Using plain words, instead of numbers, explain the proportion of funding that comes from different sources. Say it in the way you think would make it most easily understood.
Two-thirds of the budget comes from the state, while about a quarter comes from fees, grants, and gifts, and the rest comes from tuition.

2) Your editor assigns you to do a story about prison sentences handed down in cases of aggravated assault. He gives you the following figures from an anti-crime group that is lobbying for tougher sentencing guidelines. The cases represent the people convicted for aggravated assault in San Jose in one month in 2006.

* Calculate the average prison term for people convicted of aggravated assault, taking care to convert some of the terms to figures that will compare properly (months vs. years).
The average prison term for aggravated assault is 22 months.

* Calculate the median prison term for people convicted of aggravated assault.
The median prison term is 12 months.

* Explain why the average or median figure is the most accurate description of prison terms.
The median is the better figure because averages can be distorted by numbers that don't occur very often. The median is the middle number so it doesn't factor in the highs values and low values.

Name Sentence
Donald Lee 1 year prison, 2 years probation
Richard Smith 1 year prison, 1 year probation
Wesley Mitchell 14 months prison, 1 year probation
Mary Jones 1 year prison, 1 year probation
Juan Rodriguez 1 year prison, 2 years probation
Harold Rothstein 8 months prison, 1 year probation
Michael Reese 7 years prison, 5 years probation

3) The state legislature is considering exempting restaurant food sales from the sales tax in the same way grocery sales are exempt.

* First, find out the state sales tax.
According to the California State Board of Equalization the standard sales and usage tax rate for California is 7.25%

* Then determine and explain how much fast-food patrons who pay $5 per meal would save in a year if they eat out once a week.

A person who eats a fast-food meal once a week would save 36 cents per meal. This is a savings of $18.72 a year.

(5 x .0725 = .3625 but you would not receive that quarter of a penny would be rounded off.)

* Explain how much people would save if they spend $20 per meal once a week for a year.

A person that eats a $20 meal once a week would save $75.40 in a year.