Statistics: Making sense of data

Angelyn Macariza dela Cruz

THERE are many who think that Statistics is Math… I assure you, it is not. Statistics deals with uncertainty and uses inductive thinking while Math uses deduction.

Because Statistics deals with data, its importance has been recognized across disciplines because of the need for evidence-based decision making.

In order to make sense of data, Statistics is needed. This enables us to summarize data for describing or explaining phenomenon; or to make predictions. Statistics is the science that studies data, and what we can do with data.

Senior High School teachers can help Senior High School students discover the fun in describing data, and in exploring the stories behind the data. The K-12 curriculum provides for concepts in Statistics and Probability to be taught from Grade 1 up to Grade 8, and in Grade 10, but the depth at which learners absorb these concepts may need reinforcement.

There is a guide for SHS students on teaching Statistics. The first chapter of the guide discusses basic tools (such as summary measures and graphs) for describing data. While Probability may have been discussed prior to Grade 11, it is also discussed in Chapter 2, as a prelude to defining Random Variables and their Distributions.

The next chapter discusses Sampling and Sampling Distributions, which bridges Descriptive Statistics and Inferential Statistics. The latter is started in Chapter 4, in Estimation, and further discussed in Chapter 5 (which deals with Tests of Hypothesis). The final chapter discusses Regression and Correlation.

Writers of the teaching guide recognize that few Senior High School teachers would have formal training or applied experience with statistical concepts. Thus, the guide gives concrete suggestions on classroom activities that can illustrate the wide range of processes behind data collection and data analysis.

The teaching guide shall provide Senior High School teachers of Statistics and Probability with much-needed support as the country’s basic education system transitions into the K-12 curriculum. It is earnestly hoped that Senior High School teachers of Grade 11 Statistics and Probability can direct students into examining the context of data, identifying the consequences and implications of stories behind Statistics and Probability, thus becoming critical consumers of information.

The author is Senior High School Teacher III at Pasig National High School,

Pasig, Candaba