Suppose Mr. Yipol gives 100 students a reading exam. He then selects five students with the highest scores for a special reading program. At the end of the reading program, he administers the same reading exam again. To Mr. Yipol's astonishment, the students actually perform poorly this time. While it might well be the case that the reading program actually negatively impacted the students' reading ability, Mr. Yipol would be wise to consider that the decrease could be due to ____.
A)false consensus
B)false uniqueness
C)statistical regression
D)illusion of control

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Statistical regression, or regression to the mean, explains how extreme scores are likely to be closer to the average on a subsequent test. This phenomenon could account for the students' lower scores without assuming the reading program was detrimental.