This is apparently no longer the case. I'm taking a statistics class this semester. And undergraduate statistics class. The same undergraduate statistics class I took as an undergraduate, about 12 or 13 years ago (Christ, that's a long time). Now, granted that I'm taking this course at a much better school, and I'm (re)learning a hell of a lot. But I'm afraid it's kicking my ass.

I had my first exam today. The multiple choice questions weren't bad - I'd spent several hours carefully going through my notes and memorizing definitions and concepts. 12 or 13 years ago, I wouldn't have needed to. Most of the computations I knew how to do as well. But there was one question that I simply couldn't figure out. I think I've gotten it now, but I'm still not sure (since I haven't double-checked the z-chart).

Here's the problem: alpha=0.05; N=12; d_MEI=0.42; mu=24; and sigma=6. Based on these numbers (and the power chart provided), calculate the power of this study. Ok, that's easy: delta=(d_MEI)(square root of N). Solve for delta, check the power chart, and Power = something in the neighborhood of 0.30.

The real problem came with the next question, where we had to draw the curves for H₀ is true, and H₀ is false; mark the critical values: mu+/-(1.96)(sigma); and indicate alpha, 1-alpha, beta, and power. That, too, I can do. Then we needed to use z scores, and the z-chart to determine the actual beta and power. That involves converting the area from the point on the curve that corresponds to d_MEI and the critical value to z-scores, looking at the z-chart, and figuring out what the area under the curve is. I teh failed it. I know how to do it. I did it in the practice problems, and in the homework. I failed it on the test, though, and I still can't quite figure out why. The power from this test should be almost exactly what it is in the previous test, but I got something completely different.

As a result, I feel somewhat slow. There were kids in my class who finished a half an hour after the exam started. I took the entire class period this time, but I used to be the first person to finish. There's no way I made an A on the test, I think, and that bums me out way more than it should. I'd kind of kept in the back of my mind that if I get burned out on the writing thing, then I could use back-door connections to get into the doctoral program in social psych at $university. I'm not sure I could do it. This seriously bums me out.