Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How much do graduates of your college owe in student loans?
  2. Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?

Chart 1 of 2 · College

How much do graduates of your college owe in student loans?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

Search 1,727 colleges that mainly award bachelor's degrees. Graduates who took out federal student loans owed a median of $5,000 at Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Barranquitas, PR, the lowest, and $50,350 at Beulah Heights University, GA, the highest. It counts graduates in the two federal fiscal years ending in September 2025 and only federal loans to students: private loans and parents' PLUS loans are not included.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2025

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · Road safety

Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2024 there were 1.19 deaths for every 100 million miles driven, down from 3.35 in 1980. The lowest rate was 1.08 in 2014; it jumped to 1.34 in 2020, when people drove less but deaths rose. Miles driven are the Federal Highway Administration's estimates.

How to read this chart

Each point is the number of people killed in traffic crashes for every 100 million miles Americans drove that year. Dividing by miles driven turns a count into a rate, so years when people drove more or less can be compared fairly.

Questions to discuss

  1. About what fraction of the 1980 rate is the rate in the latest year?
  2. In 2020 people drove less, but the rate went up. What could explain that?
  3. Why is deaths per mile a fairer way to compare years than the total number of deaths?

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and FHWA Highway Statistics (table VM-2) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

Open the chart and its numbers

Teachers: make your own chart assignment, or change this one. Free, no account needed.