INSTRUMENTS / DENOMINATOR EXPLORER

Constructed example

Same outcomes. Different frames.

Compare two definitions without changing the underlying counts.

Read the investigation →

THE SHARED COUNTS

0 ≤ completed ≤ started ≤ invited
Whole counts, up to 1,000,000.

Both views use these counts. Changing a frame keeps the outcomes fixed.

80 of 100 starters
80%

Among people who started.One dot = one person

80 of 140 invitees
57.1%

Among everyone invited.One dot = one person

Select a group to follow the same people across both frames.

Every term, in the open.

Completion rates · denominator-v1 · constructed counts
DefinitionCompletedPopulationRate
Among starters8010080%
Among invitees8014057.1%

Rate = completed ÷ population × 100. Display rounded to one decimal; calculations and exports retain the unrounded result. A population of zero has no defined completion rate.

Definition IDs: completion-among-starters; completion-among-invitees.

Both rates are correct.

They answer different questions.

+22.9 percentage points (A − B). A difference in definitions, not a change in performance.

MODEL & LIMITS

What the number cannot tell us

A single percentage does not show how people were selected, what completion means, or why some never started. These counts are constructed to reveal the arithmetic.

Save this experiment

Saved only in this browser. Clearing browser data removes local copies; export a copy from your notebook to keep it.

Selection, missing data and time

The example supplies three nested counts. “Did not start” is a recorded category here, not an assumed reason or a missing record. We do not know the invitation rule, reasons for non-participation, assessment window or quality of completion.

Before comparing real rates, align the population, definition and time window. Keep unknown records distinct from observed non-completions. This demonstration cannot establish causes or judge programme quality.

Source and evidence status

Evidence: constructed teaching example, authored for Epistemologium. There is no external participant dataset. Model: denominator-v1.

OpenStax, Prealgebra, Chapter 4: Key Terms supports the elementary fraction terminology. It is not the source of these invented counts.

Method, validation and version policy →