Ohio Civil Service Exam Data Interpretation and Analysis 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An analyst is comparing two programs using a ratio. Program A served 340 clients with a $170,000 budget; Program B served 280 clients with a $126,000 budget. Which has a lower cost per client?
- Program A at $500
- Program B at $450 (Correct answer)
- Both are equal at $475
- Program A at $450
Correct answer: Program B at $450
Program A costs $500 per client ($170,000÷340) while Program B costs $450 per client ($126,000÷280), so Program B is more cost-efficient.
Question 2: A data table shows overtime hours by department. Finance logged 120 hours, HR logged 45 hours, IT logged 95 hours, and Legal logged 60 hours. What fraction of total overtime did IT log?
- 1/4
- 19/64 (Correct answer)
- 3/8
- 1/3
Correct answer: 19/64
Total overtime is 320 hours; IT's 95 hours represents 95/320 = 19/64 of the total.
Question 3: A government dashboard shows that 72 of 288 applications were incomplete. What is the ratio of complete to incomplete applications?
- 3:1 (Correct answer)
- 4:1
- 5:1
- 2:1
Correct answer: 3:1
Complete applications number 216 (288−72); the ratio 216:72 simplifies to 3:1.
Question 4: A trend report shows annual service requests: 2021=4,200, 2022=4,620, 2023=5,082, 2024=5,590. What is the approximate consistent annual growth rate?
- 8%
- 10% (Correct answer)
- 12%
- 15%
Correct answer: 10%
Each year's value is approximately 110% of the prior year's, indicating a consistent ~10% annual growth rate.
Question 5: A histogram shows most data clustered near the right side with a long tail extending left. This distribution is best described as:
- Positively skewed
- Negatively skewed (Correct answer)
- Normal
- Bimodal
Correct answer: Negatively skewed
When the tail extends to the left (lower values), the distribution is negatively (left) skewed.
Question 6: A report shows that a city processed 1,200 permits in Q1 and aims to process 20% more in Q2. How many permits must be processed in Q2 to meet this goal?
- 1,380
- 1,440 (Correct answer)
- 1,320
- 1,400
Correct answer: 1,440
20% of 1,200 is 240; adding that to 1,200 gives a Q2 target of 1,440 permits.
Question 7: A spreadsheet shows budget variances: Dept A is -$4,200 (under), Dept B is +$3,100 (over), Dept C is -$900 (under), Dept D is +$1,500 (over). What is the net overall budget variance?
- -$500 (Correct answer)
- +$500
- -$600
- +$600
Correct answer: -$500
Net variance = (−4,200 + 3,100 − 900 + 1,500) = −500, meaning the overall budget is $500 under.
Ohio Civil Service Exam Data Interpretation and Analysis 4
An analyst is comparing two programs using a ratio.
Program A served 340 clients with a $170,000 budget; Program B served 280 clients with a $126,000 budget.
Which has a lower cost per client?