20/08/2012
Statistics in our schools and colleges
A description of what statistics is being
learnt in our schools and colleges, across
the age range and the different subjects
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Policy recommendations
Background: the last 50 years
An ever-changing situation with large increases
in:
- the amount of data available
- the capacity to process them
- the amount of statistics learnt in our schools and
colleges
These changes are fostered by the ongoing
development of digital technology
Using evidence
We now recognise the importance of evidence in
making decisions and solving problems.
- In national life
- In academic work
- In the workplace
Much of the evidence is derived from data. So
increasingly and inevitably statistics is
pervading our lives.
The national need
The national economy depends on good
problem solving and decision making,
and so on the use of statistics.
These trends will continue; the need for
statistics is not something that is going to
go away.
Our education policy must reflect this.
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Higher Education Needs
New undergraduates with mathematics
and statistics beyond GCSE
Estimates
Demand
330 000
Supply
125 000
from Mathematical Needs
At the Royal Society
On June 29th 2011, Michael Gove said
…we should set a new goal for the education
system so that within a decade the vast
majority of pupils are studying maths right
through to the age of 18
and he then went on to talk about the
importance of statistics
Describing and classifying statistics
Devil’s advocate
Is the full cycle really important?
Problem Analysis
Rubbish in, rubbish out
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Statistics is important because it provides
the evidence on which to make decisions
about real situations and problems.
Data
Presentation
Primary schools
GCSE Mathematics
Problem Analysis
Data Analysis
Problem Analysis
Data Collection
Data Presentation
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Data
Presentation
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AS & A Level Mathematics
Which subjects ?
Problem Analysis
Data Analysis
Problem Analysis
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Data
Presentation
Data Presentation
Assessment methods
Examination questions
• Coursework (10)
• Controlled assessment (6)
• Examination questions (15)
A home for statistics
Where in the best location for statistics in
the school curriculum?
- In user subjects
- As a subject in its own right
- As part of mathematics
Conclusion: In mathematics but …
• Questions are based on in-course work that
candidates are expected to have done
- the work is described and submitted (11)
- the work is described (12)
• Questions cover the design and conduct of such
work (13 & 14)
• Questions are based on pre-release material
which fosters such work in preparation (9)
Assessment
The current assessment instruments used in
mathematics do not always foster good
statistics teaching
There are examples of good practice in other
subjects
Assessing statistics well requires a change of
culture among mathematics examiners
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Support for other subjects
Although statistics is currently taught within
mathematics, the curriculum is not well
coordinated with the needs of user subjects
Wherever possible students should have met
statistical techniques in mathematics before
they need to use them in other subjects
Mathematics departments should be centres of
excellence for statistics, providing guidance on
correct usage and good practice
Ownership
Content
The detailed content of the statistics strand
in the mathematics curriculum needs to
be reviewed
The current provision is rather repetitive
from year to year and so there is scope
for modest increases in content
National Curriculum Review
At the strategic level, there is the danger that
policy decisions do not take sufficient account
of the distinctive nature of statistics compared
to the rest of mathematics
This report, with its recommendations, was
published in time to form part of the evidence
for the review of the national curriculum for
mathematics
Statistics should be represented separately from
mathematics, but alongside it, when policy
decisions are being made
It is also relevant to the review in many other
subjects, particularly the final table which
outlines teaching and learning opportunities for
statistics across the whole GCSE curriculum
Post-16 development
New courses need to be developed post-16 to meet the
needs of those going into Higher Education and into
employment, within a modular structure. Both
destinations will require a strong emphasis on statistics
Suitable content for those going into employment is given
in ACME’s Mathematical Needs
Mathematical modelling
Use of software packages
Costing
Performance indicators
Risk
Quality control and SPC
A window of opportunity ?
In his Royal Society speech, Michael Gove also
said
…And what about statistics? There are a vast
array of issues that people are confronted
with in daily life - from health scares to claims
about the effect of drugs to financial news which require statistical understanding. But
studies have repeatedly shown how poor our
collective understanding of such issues is.
…Should this be something we should look to
change?
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