In our data-driven society, it is essential for students to become statistically literate. A core domain within Statistical Literacy is Statistical Inference, the ability to draw inferences from sample data. Acquiring and applying inferences is difficult for students and, therefore, usually not included in the pre-10th-grade curriculum. However,…

Background: Prior research has shown that students taught using "Standards"-based mathematics curricula tend to outperform students on measures of mathematics achievement. However, little research has focused particularly on the promotion of student quantitative literacy (QLT). In this study, the potential influence of the…

The learning sequence described in this article was developed to provide students with a demonstration of the development of box plots from authentic data as an illustration of the advantages gained from using multiple forms of data representation. The sequence follows an authentic process that starts with a problem to which data representations…

In this paper, we exploit a high school pilot scheme to identify the causal effect of advanced high school math on labor market outcomes. The pilot scheme reduced the costs of choosing advanced math because it allowed for a more flexible combination of math with other courses. We find clear evidence of a causal relationship between math and…

This handbook was developed for high school teachers looking for new sources of timely information and ways to make courses more engaging and relevant to students. The American Community Survey (ACS) provides a wide online array of social, economic, and demographic information about the nation, states, and local communities. These data can be…

A sample of 134 sixth-grade students who were using the Connected Mathematics curriculum were administered an open-ended item entitled, Vet Club (Balanced Assessment, 2000). This paper explores the role of misconceptions and naive conceptions in the acquisition of statistical thinking for middle grades students. Students exhibited misconceptions…

The ACT National Curriculum Survey is a one-of-a-kind nationwide survey of educational practices and expectations conducted by ACT every 3 to 5 years. ACT surveys thousands of middle school/junior high school, secondary, and postsecondary teachers in English/writing, reading (including English language arts and social studies teachers),…

This document is divided into two sections: general statistics on education in the United States and descriptions of changes in mathematics education in the U.S. Many tables and charts describe the structure of United States education, enrollment trends, expenditure patterns and revenue receipts, international enrollment, and staffing and…

Statistics tend to become interesting to non-methodologists when taught in a research context that is relevant to them. Real data sets supplemented by sufficient background information can provide just such a context. Despite this, many textbook authors and instructors of applied statistics rely on artificial data sets to illustrate statistical…

A description is given of materials produced by the Schools Council Project on Statistical Education. (MK)

This study uses Partial Credit Rasch analysis to study a complex data set of student responses to survey items relating to chance and data. The items were administered in the classroom and collected from 1993 to 2003 in the Australian state of Tasmania. Data were collected from a total of 5514 individual students across Grades 3 to 11 over the…

When marking GCSE data handling coursework, the author was repeatedly reminded just how poor the level of statistical understanding is among students. In response to a feeling that the teaching of handling data topics was limited, the author and her colleague designed a project with Y8 students to try to teach statistics for a deeper…

The mathematical sciences, based largely in academia, are crucial not only for the development of new knowledge but also as a needed resource in the education of our technological work force. As with other scientific professions, the challenge of meeting the growing need for workers in the face of shrinking supplies will require a program of…

This set of activity sheets requires students to organize and display data with a box-and-whiskers graph. Students use the plot as a summary display to detect patterns and to highlight the important features of the data for purposes of comparison. (PK)

Any consideration of the status of science and mathematics education at the upper secondary school level in Australia must take into account the range of courses offered and the number of students enrolled in the different courses. This monograph describes science and mathematics curricula at national and state levels, and provides full enrollment…