As a branch of knowledge statistics refers to the collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of data. Statistics is critical to many aspects of life; however, few students truly master its skills. Being able to manipulate data and understand what it is telling you helps in drawing general conclusions about the world around you, and helps you understand what is really happening in the world. It is not only a tool for researchers, but should be a valuable skill for anyone to have in their back pocket.
The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the world’s largest community of statisticians and also provides many great resources for statistics educators at all levels. We connected with the ASA to gather a few statistical resources for students and teachers who want a little extra push at engaging with statistics. There are curriculum guides, lesson plans, classroom resources, and yes, even academic competitions! Check them out below!
Curriculum Guidelines
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report: A Pre-K–12 Curriculum Framework provides recommendations and a curriculum framework with examples for teaching statistics in the pre-K–12 years.
Lesson Plans
Statistics Education Web (STEW)—An ASA resource that provides peer-reviewed lesson plans for anyone who teaches statistical concepts in their classrooms.
Free ASA Publications for Teachers—Free publications that include classroom investigations.
Classroom Resources
Statistics Teacher—An ASA online publication for statistics teachers, including lesson plans and grade-specific insights.
Census at School—An international classroom project that engages students in statistical problem solving using their own data.
What’s Going on In This Graph—A partnership between ASA and the New York Times Learning Network that explores graphs, maps and charts from the week’s news, and invites students to discuss them live.
Videos
This is Statistics provides videos and resources for educators to promote the study of statistics.
Student Competitions Online
Data Visualization Poster Competition (Grades K–12)—A competition for data visualization posters, in which students create a display containing two or more related graphics that summarize a set of data, look at the data from different points of view, and answer specific questions about the data.
Statistics Project Competition (Grades 7–9)—A competition for statistics projects, in which students answer a research question using statistical techniques and present the work in a written report.
This is Statistics Fall Data Challenge (high school and college) —A national contest for high school and undergraduate students to apply their statistical and data visualization skills to examine a relevant and timely topic and demonstrate the real-world impact of data.
Virtual Science Fair (Grades K–12)—An opportunity for students working independently or as a member of a team, to spend the month investigating an interesting topic, and submit a short video highlighting their process and results.
Statistics for Science Fair Projects (Grades K–12)—A This is Statistics resource to help students apply statistics to their science fair projects.
Modeling the Future Challenge (Grades 11-12) – don’t miss this premier competition from the Actuarial Foundation in which students analyze real-world data, review risks, and make recommendations on how to improve the future.
Don’t miss these opportunities to learn more about how you can pump up your students’ statistics knowledge, and compete for these prestigious academic challenges!
