Digest of Education Statistics

The ASA Section on Statistical Education: A Historical Note

The study assessed the test construction skills, testing competency level and the training needs of in-service secondary school teachers in kwara state. Using the survey research design, the population comprised all in-service secondary schools teachers in Kwara state with a sample size of one hundred and eighteen (118) teachers in Ilorin west area selected using stratified random sampling techniques with gender as strata. The study answered three research questions and tested two research hypothesis. An instrument titled: Test construction competency scale was used to obtain information as well as open ended item on the training needs of the teachers. The study found out that the most frequently possessed test construction skills is that they have the ability to “Consult standard textbook in the subject for guide” and can “Give clear instruction to guide the test items” as well. However, the least possessed skills are that they mostly lack the ability to “Avoid gender stereotypes in the test items” during test development stage, “Limit essay tests to high level objectives” and are “not comfortable giving students test items for marking” among others. The result further shows that there is a high level of testing competency among the in-service secondary school teachers in the state. Also, there is no difference in the testing competency level of in-service secondary school teachers in Kwara state base on gender and their year of teaching experience. The study therefore recommended that there should be regular in-service training for teachers to update their assessment skills.

This work is a documentary research study aiming to analyze the offering and syllabus of the disciplines of Statistics, Probability, and Statistical Education in the in-person Mathematics Degree courses at the Federal Institutes (FI) of Brazil, examining whether future Mathematics teachers receive training in Statistical Education. Of the 36 FIs existing at the time of the research, 30 offered the Mathematics Degree course in person. In total, 70 Course Pedagogical Projects (PPCs) and the syllabuses of the related disciplines were analyzed, along with the official documents that govern the training of Brazilian teachers. Thus, it was possible to map the contents addressed in the training of Mathematics teachers and to verify alignment with the demands of the official documents. A comparison was made between what is being taught about Statistical Education in the FIs and what teachers really need to know to develop their teaching activities in Basic Education.

Data and statistical findings can be communicated effectively using graphs, often better than could be done with numbers or words. In pretest-posttest designs, graphs can be especially useful for visualizing patterns of change. In this study, we sought to examine the quantity of graphs, how variability and error were visualized, and the visual accessibility of graphs used in statistics education literature. Data came from all articles with a two-timepoint design published in three statistics education research journals (Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, Statistics Education Research Journal, Teaching Statistics) between 2012 and 2024. Results indicate that over half of all published articles implementing pretest-posttest designs had an associated graph. Variability was frequently depicted using distributional methods, but individual-level data and trajectories were rarely shown, limiting the ability to fully represent change over time. Visual accessibility was often poor: small text size and missing or uninformative alt-text were the most common barriers, and many graphs were inaccessible to individuals with color vision deficiencies or reduced contrast sensitivity. To support improved graphing practices, we developed an open-source Shiny web application that allows users to create publication-ready, accessible graphs for pretest–posttest data and provides guidance on effective visualization practices.

The article discusses current situation in statistics education in Russia and worldwide, its causes and importance of mathematical training for statistical education. Challenges in online education are discussed along with readiness of students and teachers to learn contemporary statistics. Main features of modern online courses on statistics and the results of their mastering by students, as well as issues of interaction between specialists in applied statistics and statisticians-researchers are described. The authors of this article point out that the role of statistics in the modern world, as a tool to identify hidden patterns and dependencies, is generally underestimated. The main topics and results of the International Conference on Teaching Statistics together with current issues of statistics education are discussed. The distribution of the conference papers from different countries and regions of the world is analyzed. The directions for discussions by the following main topics are described: Innovative collaboration in statistics education, Statistics education at school level, Education and development of staff who teach statistics, Statistics education at the post-secondary level, Statistics education in the disciplines and the workplace, Innovation and reform in teaching probability within statistics, Statistical literacy in the wider society, Research in statistics education, Technology in statistics education, Sustaining strengths and building capacity in statistics education. Special emphasis is laid on the importance of mastering the necessary mathematical methods for teaching statistics and using them as the main tool for pro providing the possibility of meaningful understanding and effective use of statistical methods for the solution of contemporary problems of processing and analyzing large heterogeneous datasets. The set of major disadvantages of statistics education in Russian Federation is formulated.

Spreadsheets are an ubiquitous program category, and we will discuss their use in statistics and statistics education on various levels, ranging from very basic examples to extremely powerful methods. Since the spreadsheet paradigm is very familiar to many potential users, using it as the interface to statistical methods can make statistics more easily accessible.

W.F. Buskist, Foreword. D.S. Dunn, R.A. Smith, B.C. Beins, Preface. Part 1. Introducing Best Practices. D.S. Dunn, R.A. Smith, B.C. Beins, Overview: Best Practices for Teaching Research Methods and Statistics for Psychology. Part 2. Basic Issues for Best Practices. S.F. Davis, Student-Faculty Research Collaboration: A Model for Success in Psychology. R.E. Kirk, Changing Topics and Trends in Introductory Statistics. R.E. Landrum, R.A. Smith, Creating Syllabi for Statistics and Research Methods Courses. P.C. Smith, Assessing Students' Research Idea. Part 3. Approaches to Teaching Statistics. S.L. Chew, Designing Effective Examples and Problems for Teaching Statistics. C.M. Harris, J.G. Mazoue', H. Hamdan, A.R. Casiple, Designing an Online Introductory Statistics Course. K. Brakke, J.H. Wilson, D.V. Bradley, Beyond Basics: Enhancing Undergraduate Statistics Instruction. Part 4. Emerging Approaches to Teaching Research Methods. R.L. Ault, M.P. Munger, S. Tonidandel, C. Barton, K.S. Multhaup, Hands-On Labs in Content Area Methods Courses. K.E. Barron, J.O. Benedict, B.K. Saville, S.L. Serdikoff, T.E. Zinn, Innovative Approaches to Teaching Statistics and Research Methods: Just-in-Time Teaching, Interteaching, and Learning Communities. E.P. Kardas, C. Spatz, Teaching Ethics in Research Methods Classes. K.D. Keith, J. Meerdink, A. Molitor, Upper-Division Research Methods: From Idea to Print in a Semester. Part 5. Integrative Approaches to Teaching Methods and Statistics. A.N. Christopher, M.I. Walter, R.S. Horton, P. Marek, Benefits and Detriments of Integrating Statistics and Research Methods. B.C. Beins, A. Lynn, Integrating Computer Applications in Statistics and Research Methods. R.A. Smith, Through the Curriculum and Beyond: Giving Students Professional Opportunities in Research. Part 6. Special Topics: Diversity Issues and Writing. L.M. Woolf, M.R. Hulsizer, Understanding the Mosaic of Humanity Through Research Methodology: Infusing Diversity Into Research Methods Courses. M.E. Schmidt, D.S. Dunn, Teaching Writing in Statistics and Research Methods: Addressing Objectives, Intensive Issues, and Style.

Journal of Educational MeasurementVolume 16, Issue 4 p. 271-278 THE COMPARABILITY OF EQUAL RAW SCORES OBTAINED FROM IN-LEVEL AND OUT-OF-LEVEL TESTING: ONE SOURCE OF THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN IN-LEVEL AND OUT-OF-LEVEL GRADE EQUIVALENT SCORES BARBARA S. PLAKE, Corresponding Author BARBARA S. PLAKE University of Nebraska-Lincoln Address: 31 D Teachers College, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588. Title: Assistant Professor. Degrees: B.A. University of Colorado, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization. “Educational Statistics, Measurement. Address: Center for Measurement, University of Iowa, Iowa City, iowa 52242. Title: Associate Professor. Degrees. B.S. University of Missouri, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization: Educational Statistics, Measurement.Search for more papers by this authorH. D. HOOVER, Corresponding Author H. D. HOOVER University of Iowa Address: 31 D Teachers College, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588. Title: Assistant Professor. Degrees: B.A. University of Colorado, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization. “Educational Statistics, Measurement. Address: Center for Measurement, University of Iowa, Iowa City, iowa 52242. Title: Associate Professor. Degrees. B.S. University of Missouri, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization: Educational Statistics, Measurement.Search for more papers by this author BARBARA S. PLAKE, Corresponding Author BARBARA S. PLAKE University of Nebraska-Lincoln Address: 31 D Teachers College, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588. Title: Assistant Professor. Degrees: B.A. University of Colorado, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization. “Educational Statistics, Measurement. Address: Center for Measurement, University of Iowa, Iowa City, iowa 52242. Title: Associate Professor. Degrees. B.S. University of Missouri, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization: Educational Statistics, Measurement.Search for more papers by this authorH. D. HOOVER, Corresponding Author H. D. HOOVER University of Iowa Address: 31 D Teachers College, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588. Title: Assistant Professor. Degrees: B.A. University of Colorado, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization. “Educational Statistics, Measurement. Address: Center for Measurement, University of Iowa, Iowa City, iowa 52242. Title: Associate Professor. Degrees. B.S. University of Missouri, M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa. Specialization: Educational Statistics, Measurement.Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1979 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3984.1979.tb00108.xCitations: 2AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume16, Issue4December 1979Pages 271-278 RelatedInformation

This chapter examines the status of statistics education and practice in Nigerian secondary schools. In Nigeria, statistics has always been taught as an integral part of mathematics curriculum and this arrangement seems to have significant implications on the growth and development of statistics education as a distinct branch of knowledge deserving due recognition as it is given to other core subjects in Nigerian secondary school curriculum. First, of particular interest is to assess the adequacy of statistics content of the current mathematics curriculum for both junior and senior secondary school students in Nigeria; second, it is desired to examine the professional qualifications and training of those who serve as statistics educators in Nigerian secondary schools; third, it is equally intended to examine the adequacy of instructional materials and teaching aids required for effective and productive teaching–learning process; and lastly to assess the impact of existing professional statistical bodies in promoting statistical education and literacy among Nigerian secondary school students. In view of the fact that we now live in a data-driven world where statistical education and practice plays a vital and leading role, there is a need to address problems confronting statistical education and practice at the secondary school level of education. This chapter, therefore, focuses on experiences, challenges and opportunities that are open to statistics educators and students in Nigerian secondary schools. Using ten secondary schools drawn from Oyo state of Nigeria, we present empirical evidence that suggests that statistics education and practice is still evolving in Nigerian secondary schools. It is hoped that our findings will guide policy-makers, school administrators, researchers, professional statistical bodies and other stakeholders committed to promoting statistical education and practice in Nigeria.

Statistical analysis of data and understanding of experimental design are critical skills needed by animal science graduate students (ASGS). These skills are even more valuable with the increased development of high-throughput technologies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceived statistical training of U.S. ASGS. A survey with 38 questions was shared across U.S. universities, and 416 eligible ASGS from 43 universities participated in this study. The survey included questions on the demographics and overall training, graduate education on statistics, and self-assessment on statistics and career path of ASGS. Several analyses were performed: relationship between perceived received education (PRE; i.e., how ASGS evaluated their graduate education in statistics) and perceived knowledge (PK; i.e., how ASGS evaluated their knowledge in statistics from their education); ranking of statistical topics based on PRE, PK, and confidence in performing statistical analyses (CPSA); cluster analysis of statistical topics for PRE, PK, and CPSA; and factors (demographic, overall training, interest in statistics, and field of study) associated with the overall scores (OS) for PRE, PK, and CPSA. Students had greater (P < 0.05) PRE than PK for most of the statistical topics included in this study. The moderate to high repeatability of answers within statistical topics indicates substantial correlations in ASGS answers between PRE and PK. The cluster analysis resulted in distinct groups of “Traditional” and “Nontraditional” statistical topics. ASGS showed lower (P < 0.05) scores of PRE, PK, and CPSA in “Nontraditional” compared with “Traditional” statistical methods. Several factors were associated (P < 0.05) with the OS of PRE, PK, and CSPA. In general, factors related to greater training and interest in statistics of ASGS were associated with greater OS, such as taking more credits in statistics courses, having additional training in statistics outside the classroom, knowing more than one statistics software, and more. This study provided comprehensive information on the perceived level of education, knowledge, and confidence in statistics in ASGS in the United States. Although objective measurements of their training in statistics are needed, the current study suggests that ASGS have limited statistical training on topics of major importance for the current and future trends of data-driven research in animal sciences.

This study examined the relationship between working conditions and teachers’ job satisfaction in public secondary schools in Delta State. Despite the crucial role educators play in the school system, there is a notable gap between their working conditions and overall job satisfaction. The study was guided by two research questions that explored the nature of teachers’ working conditions and the relationship between workplace interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction. A mixed- method research design was employed for data collection. The population is made up of 11,010 teachers from 488 public secondary schools across the state. A sample of 200 teachers was selected using the stratified random sampling technique to ensure representativeness from all the senatorial districts housing the 488 public schools. The data collected using the questionnaires were analysed using SPSS, mean, frequency, and standard deviation. Additionally, regression analysis was conducted to identify key factors influencing teachers' job satisfaction. Findings indicated that teachers in Delta State experienced unfavourable working conditions which were not significantly impacting their job satisfaction as evidenced by a group mean score of 2.24, which falls below the benchmark of 2.50. Furthermore, the study revealed a significant relationship between workplace interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction among teachers in the state. The study concluded that improving the work environment is essential for enhancing teachers' job satisfaction in Delta State. It was recommended that the work environment for teachers should be improved upon to promote job satisfaction by ensuring that they are provided with necessary work tools, adequate administrative support, regular training as well as opportunities for a greater measure in decision making in the school. Furthermore, the interpersonal relationship between teachers and principals should be friendly and non-toxic to enhance job satisfaction.

A number of problems are faced today by those who are attempting to carry instruction in business statistics beyond the stage of the elementary course in method. In the first place, students do not learn in the elementary course, to use in a practical way, their statistical technique. This observation applies equally to students who have had a thorough preparation in mathematics and to those who have not. Conversation with other teachers has led me to conclude that the failure of elementary instruction to enable the student to apply his knowledge is confined to no one course or institution. This is not intended to be critical of such courses. It is probably impossible in the brief time allotted to them to develop in the student both a knowledge of statistical technique and skill in the application of method to concrete problems. The emphasis in an elementary course must be on the nature and calculation of statistical constants, rather than on argument from those constants. The emphasis must be on statistical description rather than on statistical inference. But if the study of statistical method in training for business is to be justified, it must be carried to the point where the student will have more than a bowing acquaintance with method and will acquire facility in drawing conclusions from quantitative data. It is easy to suggest this and somewhat difficult to accomplish it. The faculty which needs to be developed in the student is something in the nature of a power to see analogies between a new situation and a previous experience. The mental processes involved are perhaps obscure, and no final answer possible as to the method by which this power can be developed. But certain conditions essential to its development can be pointed out. The most important of these conditions is that the original experience of the student must be vivid. Tell the student that when the relationship between associated variables is disturbed by many minor causes, a process of curve fitting or graduation is an appropriate method for describing the normal relationship between the variables. He would promptly forget it. Give him a concrete problem involving the same principle and he will remember provided that the illustration is a significant one. The original experience of the student will be vivid in proportion as it seems to the student to have a significant conclusion. At the present time, it is

The evaluation of student achievement and aptitude by means of paper and pencil multiple-choice tests is confounded by the presence of test idiosyncracies and student characteristics which may impede the accurate assessment of student performance (Millman, Bishop, & Ebel, 1965). Among test characteristics which may affect test performance are the presentation of the questions and the specificity of the test directions. Item arrangement, or the physical location of the test questions within the test is one aspect of item presentation that has been subjected to empirical investigation. Basically, the following four item arrangements have been studied: easy-hard, hard-easy, uniform or spiral-cyclical, and random. Results have generally supported easy-hard ordering for speeded tests, but have shown no practical difference for power tests (Flaugher, Melton, & Meyer, 1968; Brenner, 1964). Specificity of test directions, in particular information provided to the examinee about the item ordering, has been hypothesized to affect test performance (Cronbach, 1946; Hambleton & Traub, 1974). Little empirical evidence, however, has been found to support this idea (Plake, 1980; Plake, Thompson, & Lowry, 1981). Student characteristics which may affect test performance include test wiseness and test anxiety. Studies combining test anxiety and item arrangement show conflicting results (Hambleton & Traub, 1974; Marso, 1970; Smouse & Munz, 1968; Plake, Thompson, & Lowry, 1981). Sarnacki (1979), in his review of factors affecting test performance in the cognitive domain, suggests that familiarity with the arrangement of the items in a test may reduce one's test anxiety. Plake, Thompson, and Lowry (1981) investigated the effects of item arrangement (easy-hard, uniform, random), knowledge of arrangement, and test anxiety on performance on a 48-item mathematics test. No significant (p > .05) order or knowledge effects were found. However, the subject pool consisted of college sophomore volunteers from a general educational psychology class who may not have been motivated to achieve on the mathematics test. Therefore, the validity and applicability of the results may be questionable. The sex of the subject has also been suggested as a variable which will influence test performance, particularly in the area of mathematics (Tobias & Weissbrod, 1980). The purposes of the present study were (1) to investigate the effects of item arrangement, knowledge of arrangement, and test anxiety using motivated subjects to contrast with the Plake, Thompson, and Lowry (1981) research results on non-motivated subjects, and (2) to investigate the interactive effects of sex of the subject and test anxiety, item arrangement and/or knowledge of arrangement on test performance.

Currently, the demands on big data applications in varieties of fields are rising. The existence of big data has to be benefitted so that the information can be analysed creatively for the public’s interest. To ensure that the existence of big data can be beneficial to all parties, statistical skills and big data have to be integrated together with the changes in statistics education. This study is to explore the teachers’ views towards the changes in statistics education in Malaysia, as well as their views on the use of real-time big data in statistics education for Secondary Four students. This qualitative research involves two methods of data gathering, which are statistics education’s documents analysis, and partially structured interview involving ten teachers. Theme analysis is used to analyse the data. The outcome shows that according to the teachers, changes in statistics education are getting broader and suited with the needs of the generation of the era of big data. However, the aims of statistics education are difficult to achieve due to several obstacles that can be categorized into four main factors: 1) approach and arrangement of the contents of statistics education’s curriculum; 2) the need of high-level statistical skill; 3) teachers’ abilities in teaching statistics; and 4) lack of supporting documents and tools, as an aid and guidance, for teachers teaching statistics. Supporting documents and tools are needed to help teachers in increasing their knowledge and pedagogical skill in teaching statistics, considering the rapid growth of the statistics field in the era of big data. The teachers are with a positive view that, the usage of real-time big data in Secondary Four students. The implication of this study is that the statistical education curriculum needs to be given attention and developed in line with the needs of students to prepare themselves in facing the big data phenomenon which will continue to grow in the future.

This study focuses on factors used for effective awareness of climate change among Social Studies teachers in Delta State. Four research questions and four research hypothesis were used for the study. The research design used is a descriptive survey. The population of the study consists of 556 Social studies teachers in Delta State. The sample used is (120) one hundred and twenty Social studies teachers. The multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The instrument for the study was the questionnaire tagged “FUEACCQ”. Test re-test method of determining the reliability was used to establish the reliability of the instrument. The Pearson Moment Correlation used to analyse the instrument; it gave a value of 0.78. The z-test statistical tool was used for the analysis of the data collected at 0.05 probability level. The findings revealed that internet facilities enhances climate changes awareness among Social Studies teachers in Delta State; community campaign help in climate change awareness among Social Studies teachers in Delta State; media enhances climate changes awareness among Social Studies teachers in Delta State; seminar/workshop enhances climate changes awareness among Social Studies teachers in Delta State. Based on findings, it is recommended that government should make provisions of internet facilities to enhance climate change awareness among Social Studies teachers in Delta State should be taken seriously to inform the public on the effectiveness of climate change awareness.