Statistics, Data Science Education: Key for Future of High School Mathematics
Latrenda Knighten and Kevin Dykema, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in conjunction with the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics and NCSM leadership in mathematics education, recently released High School Mathematics Reimagined Revitalized and Relevant, which focuses on the need to shape the future of high school mathematics education and change student experiences so they leave high school with the skills and habits necessary to succeed.
The book authors assert high school mathematics instruction must be revitalized to provide students with more meaningful experiences in sense making and using mathematics and statistics to question, understand, and critique the world around them and puts forth 11 mathematical and statistical processes that do just that.
According to the book, students must also see the relevance of what they are learning. This can be partially accomplished by emphasizing both mathematical and statistical modeling and using contextual and interesting tasks. Through modeling activities, students experience opportunities to apply the skills they are learning, especially as they make assumptions and see the impact of those assumptions on the processes and potential solutions to real-world problems.
As our society continues to generate and use more data to make decisions, the book’s authors contend it is vital that all high school students grow in their statistical reasoning skills.
The authors also share that mathematics education must reimagine the content—including what to emphasize and how to organize it—and students must experience interest-driven pathways for their final 1–2 years of high school mathematics, which includes offering statistics and data science options. Additionally, students should have opportunities to take courses that match their interests, rather than being funneled into the same courses, and the high school mathematics content should be organized around the following five crosscutting concepts to help students see connections among topics they learn:
- Patterns and Generalization
- Variability and Change
- Functional and Structural Thinking
- Comparison, Difference, and Equivalence
- Making and Interpreting Predictions
A brief description of these concepts can be found in the book’s executive summary. It also offers key actions for stakeholders such as educators, school and district leaders, policymakers, and community members.
View additional information and resources to support the vision of this new book. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics will continue to add support to this site in the upcoming months and years.
