Statistics

Numbers from the news (1997 statistics)

About your head...
Percentage of North Dakota eighth graders who scored at “proficient” level on science portion of 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress: 41.
State ranking (highest to lowest percentage): 1 (tied with Maine and Montana).
Percentage in North Dakota who scored at “below basic” level: 22.
State ranking (lowest to highest percentage): 1 (tied with Maine).
North Dakota average teacher salary rank, compared to other states (highest to lowest): 50th.

About your feet...
Average cost of one pair, top-of-the-line Nike Air Max shoes: $140.
Cost for Nike to make one pair of these shoes: $3.50.
Salary of athletic-shoe wearer Kevin Garnett, per day: $59,000.

About your buds...
Number of students in NDSU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences (fall 1997): 916.
Percent of those majoring in communication (mass and speech): 27.
Percent of those majors on the Dean’s List (Spring 1997): 19.

About your team...
Number of fans attending this year’s NDSU-UND football game: 15,149 (a record).
Number as a percentage of Fargo population: 22.
Number of newspaper articles and commentaries reflecting complaints about phrase “Sioux Suck” used at that game: 4.
University rank of at least one complainant: 1 (president of UND).

About your value...
Number of students at NDSU (fall 1997): 9,502.
Number as a percentage of Fargo population: 14.
Number compared to a year ago: down 2 percent.
Cost to the university of a 2 percent enrollment drop: $850,000.
Cost per student: $4,250.

About your e-mail...
Number of students in MCOM 112: 101 (mostly freshmen and sophomores).
Percentage who signed up for the class e-mail list: 77.
Number of students in MCOM 436: 25 (mostly juniors and seniors).
Percentage who signed up for the class e-mail list: 68.
Daily number of e-mail messages delivered through NDSU’s servers (Oct. 28 figure): 234,931.

(Sources: Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Fargo-Moorhead Forum, It's Happening at State (NDSU campus newsletter), NDSU Spectrum, college minutes, e-mail statistics.)