A Commentary on Elementary Teacher Preparation to Teach Statistics

Since the prevalence of data and statistics in the media and workplace has greatly increased over the past few decades, the teaching of statistics in K-12 grades has also increased. This necessitates that teachers be ready to teach statistical concepts throughout the grade levels. The recently adopted Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) contain a large amount of statistics in the middle and high school grades and some at the elementary school level. This paper focuses on the preparation of elementary school teachers. The CCSSM and the Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education (GAISE) report: A preK–12 curriculum framework are examined to illustrate the content covered in the elementary grades. Additionally, two examples of the type of content teachers are expected to know and teach are presented.

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