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 big is student debt compared with pay, by major?
  2. Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?

Chart 1 of 2 · College

How big is student debt compared with pay, by major?

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

Graduates in the 20 most common bachelor's majors borrow similar amounts in federal student loans at the typical college, but their pay differs widely. For teacher education graduates, that debt equaled 46% of a year's earnings four years after graduating; for computer science graduates, 19%. Debt is the median of colleges' median federal loan debt for graduates who borrowed (private and parent loans not counted). Earnings cover only graduates who received federal aid and were working.

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 Dec 31, 2023

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.