Two Headlines, One Graph
A student reads two articles about the same school fundraiser. Article 1's headline says: "Fundraiser Nearly Doubles Last Year's Total." Its opening line reads: "This year's fundraiser brought in $1,850, compared with $980 last year." Article 2's headline says: "Fundraiser Falls Short of $2,000 Goal." Its opening line reads: "The fundraiser raised $1,850, missing its $2,000 target by $150." The student says, "These can't both be right - one says it nearly doubled, the other says it fell short." The teacher asks the student to determine whether the two articles contradict each other and to explain how both headlines could be accurate.
1. Determine whether the two articles contradict each other. Support your answer with the numbers from both articles.
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They do not contradict each other - they describe the same result against two different comparisons.
Article 1 compares this year to last year: $1,850 vs. $980. Doubling $980 gives $1,960, and $1,850 is close to that (about 89% of double), so "nearly doubles" is defensible: $1,850 ÷ $980 ≈ 1.89, or about an 89% increase.
Article 2 compares this year to a goal: $1,850 vs. a $2,000 target. $2,000 − $1,850 = $150 short, so "falls short of $2,000" is also accurate.
Both statements are true because each uses a different reference point. The student's confusion comes from assuming the two articles make the same comparison. A number can be a big improvement over the past and still miss a target - those are not in conflict.
2. Explain in 3–4 sentences how a reader should evaluate headlines like these, using the two articles as examples.
Read the worked answer
A reader should ask, "Compared with what?" - every claim of "big" or "short" depends on its reference point. Here, one headline compares to last year (a gain) and the other to a goal (a shortfall); neither reference is wrong, but each emphasizes a different fact. A careful reader checks the actual numbers in the opening line rather than trusting the headline's framing, because headlines select one comparison to create an impression. Finally, the reader should notice that both headlines can be true at once, so the goal is not to pick a "winner" but to understand what each one is measuring against.