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.

[/quote]

The PP is talking about the AP statistics course, and not the field of statistics in general. When DC did AP statistics, they did not need to apply calculus.

Here is what Collegeboard says about the prerequisites for AP statistics ([url]https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-statistics-course-overview.pdf[/url])

The AP Statistics course is an excellent option for any secondary
school student who has successfully completed a second-year course
in algebra and who possesses sufficient mathematical maturity and
quantitative reasoning ability. Because second-year algebra is the
prerequisite course, AP Statistics is usually taken in either the junior or
senior year.

You should take this issue up with Collegeboard instead of being rude to anonymous teachers here.

-- DP[/quote]

I’m can give my opinion on taking AP Statistics early. I stand by my view that one of the issues students should be aware is that the course is using calculus concepts, but it’s masking it by over reliance on formulaic recipes and looking up values in tables. Some students might find it hard to follow because sometimes it is taught as a course heavy on memorization without deep understanding.

We can surely go beyond a college board brochure to judge the contents of the course.

I would not be happy if my child’s Statistics teacher didn’t know as much. That’s why we want teacher with advanced degrees in math, so they give the student the principles, context implications. If the class is turned into a huge decision tree, like read carefully and decide what formula to apply, then that’s a disservice to the student. [/quote]

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