Reply to AP Statistics as a 10th grade elective

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I teach AP Stats at an IB school.

Yes, AP Stats is frequently taken as an elective before starting the IB sequence (at my school you take IB Analysis 1 followed by IB analysis 2, so keeping those two courses together is ideal). The only prerequisite for the course is algebra 2.

The prior posters have a bit of misinformation in their comments.  There is no calculus, it is taught from a purely algebraic/conceptual standpoint, and honestly the kids who have already taken calculus have a tougher time with stats because they want to spit out straight calculations and stats is more logic/interpretation than calculation.  It is a very conceptual course.  The kids who go back to IB from AP stats tend to write very strong IAs.

The super strong math kids honestly have a hard time with stats because it feels "fluffy" to them.  It's a logic course with an undertone of math, but it's not pure calculations.[/quote]

If you teach Statistics and claim there are no calculus [b]concepts[/b] in the class, then that’s really concerning, not being aware of basic things that calculating probabilities from critical z scores involves integration, I’m wondering if you actually have a degree in math, or what your professional background is.

Even your claims that statistics is more logic/interpretation than calculation and that it is a very conceptual course tell me all I need to know about how good of a teacher you are. Sure, your class is conceptual with a sprinkling of plug and chug formulas but that doesn’t mean that’s what statistics is.

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My degree is in math and I was a computer programmer before I became a teacher.  The AP Statistics curriculum is extremely prescribed, there is no real room for going off into calculus.  90% of the kids who take the class haven't seen calculus, and only about half have even seen precalc.  There is no room for calculus in the intro level material.

Sorry that bothers you.  Please complain to the college board--I didn't decide what should be taught, I just teach it.[/quote]

It’s not bothering me that you’re teaching the prescribed recipe that college board wants you to, it’s more that you decide posts are misinformation based on how you are teaching your own class, which from what you say, doesn’t seem too rigorous.

The response to the OP, there is the nuance that the same AP stats class can be taught differently before and after calculus, and often when taken early, like in the 10th grade, there are a lot of shortcuts, simplifications, ‘conceptualization’, and brushing over that can result in a poor score on the AP exam.
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