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Test how missing follow-up changes the interpretation

About 16 minutes · 4 reading + 12 practice and checks
Time includes reading, practice, and questions. Extra videos or further study are optional.
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A fictional program evaluation brief with denominator definitions, matched pre/post results, attrition sensitivity, project-rubric evidence, a noncausal conclusion and a next measurement plan.

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What to include

  • Provide a stable dictionary for enrollment, completion, quiz and project measures.
  • Retain all eight enrolled aliases and document matched/missing/exception records.
  • Calculate denominator-specific rates and observed paired gain.
  • Show explicitly hypothetical missing-score bounds and independent project-rubric evidence.
  • Write a descriptive conclusion with causal limits and a next-evidence plan.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All rates and means use the stated cohort or matched subset.
  • Missing and conflicting records are not silently dropped or invented.
  • Quiz and reviewed-project evidence retain their different standards.
  • The conclusion is descriptive and its limitations match the study design.
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

Fictional learning program: eight enrolled aliases P1–P8 have baseline scores. Four post-test items score from 0 to 4; the exercise threshold is at least3. Completion means the supplied attendance/submission conditions were met, independently of quiz or project result. P1–P4 completed; their post scores are4,4,3,3 and pre scores2,3,1,2. P5–P8 did not complete and have missing post scores; their pre scores are2,1,0,1. A four-criterion project rubric was reviewed for P1–P4: P1/P3/P4 meet all criteria; P2 needs revision. No comparison group, random assignment or real participant data exists.

The idea

A sensitivity bound asks how an estimate could change under explicitly hypothetical missing values. It is not an imputation presented as actual evidence.

Follow along

Test how missing follow-up changes the interpretation — supplied practice

A sensitivity bound asks how an estimate could change under explicitly hypothetical missing values. It is not an imputation presented as actual evidence.

Fictional learning program: eight enrolled aliases P1–P8 have baseline scores. Four post-test items score from 0 to 4; the exercise threshold is at least3. Completion means the supplied attendance/submission conditions were met, independently of quiz or project result. P1–P4 completed; their post scores are4,4,3,3 and pre scores2,3,1,2. P5–P8 did not complete and have missing post scores; their pre scores are2,1,0,1. A four-criterion project rubric was reviewed for P1–P4: P1/P3/P4 meet all criteria; P2 needs revision. No comparison group, random assignment or real participant data exists.

Fictional eight-learner evidence register

Paste at A1.

AIDBPre score /4CPost score /4DCompleted programEProject review
P124YesPass
P234YesRevise
P313YesPass
P423YesPass
P52MissingNoNot reviewed
P61MissingNoNot reviewed
P70MissingNoNot reviewed
P81MissingNoNot reviewed

Copy as plain text
  1. 1. Count unknown follow-up

    List P5–P8 as the four missing post results and record the possible score range0–4.

    You should see: Four unknown scores with total possible range0–16.

    The instrument’s bounded scale makes a transparent scenario range possible.

  2. 2. Calculate the lower bound

    For this hypothetical bound only, set all four missing scores to 0; divide observed total 14 by all eight.

    You should see: All-cohort post mean lower bound1.75.

    The hypothetical zeros are not entered as real learner records.

  3. 3. Calculate the upper bound

    For this bound only, set all four missing scores to 4; add16 to 14 and divide by eight.

    You should see: All-cohort post mean upper bound3.75.

    The scenario uses the maximum allowed score, not a forecast.

  4. 4. Interpret against the cohort baseline

    Use all-eight baseline mean 12/8=1.5; state hypothetical cohort-change range+0.25 to+2.25 points and keep observed paired gain separate.

    You should see: The range describes assumptions; the observed paired gain remains1.5 for four learners.

    Bounds do not remove selection bias, measurement limits or the lack of a causal comparison.

Now change one thing

P5 now supplies observed post score 2. Observed post total becomes16 for five learners, with P6–P8 still missing. If all three remaining missing scores were hypothetically4, what is the eight-person upper post mean?

Your work

What to finish

A labeled missing-follow-up sensitivity table and limitation note.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Reporting hypothetical minimum or maximum scores as if missing learners actually took the test.

How can I tell I understand it?

Sensitivity, observed paired change and causal interpretation remain separate.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1What is the hypothetical lower all-eight post mean in this fictional sensitivity test?
2Which fictional evaluation statement correctly labels the upper bound?
3Why keep fictional paired gain separate from the sensitivity range?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
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Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

Institute of Education Sciences — Program Evaluation Toolkit
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

This official reference supports the mapped concepts. The supplied exercise inputs and operating rules are original fictional practice, not universal legal requirements or qualification evidence.

Access: official search extract of program-evaluation toolkit; fullPDFreadererror on 2026-10-01; external resources are optional.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching and practice; source concepts paraphrased and linked, with no copied provider exercises.

Institute of Education Sciences — Missing Data in Education Research, ERIC record
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

This official reference supports the mapped concepts. The supplied exercise inputs and operating rules are original fictional practice, not universal legal requirements or qualification evidence.

Access: official IES missing-data report metadata/search extract; fullreadererror on 2026-10-01; external resources are optional.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching and practice; source concepts paraphrased and linked, with no copied provider exercises.

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