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The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an internationally standardized assessment that was jointly developed by participating countries and administered to more than a million 15-year-olds in schools in over 60 countries between the years 2000 and 2006. PISA assesses how far students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in society. In all cycles, the domains of reading, mathematical and scientific literacy and problem solving are covered not merely in terms of mastery of the school curriculum, but in terms of important knowledge and skills needed in adult life. Four different aspects of mathematics were tested.
This document presents a case for the inclusion of Statistical Literacy in the curriculum is necessary if we want our children to become fully involved in society.
This is a volume edited by Vic Barnett and published by the International Statistical Institute in 1982, with the financial assistance of Unesco. The countries included in this comparison are England and Wales, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Uganda and other East African States, Sudan, South Africa, Argentina, Malaysia and Japan.
Autores: J.P da Ponte, A.M. Boavida, A.P. Canavarro, F. Guimarães, H. Oliveira, H.M. Guimarães, J. Brocardo, L. Santos, L. Serrazina, M Saraiva. Publicado pelo Centro de Investigação em Educação da Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa e Associação de Professores de Matemática. Maio, 2006.
This article comparing the statistics curriculum of Portugal, England and the United States by João Pedro da Ponte of the Centro de Investigação em Educação e Departamento de Educação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa e Helena Fonseca do Centro de Investigação em Educação e Departamento de Educação da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa is a very nice documentary of the differences and similarities between the curriculumm “on paper” and “in practice.” The authors do not focus so much in the reality of implementation of the curriculum in the aulas, as on the principles and paper documents, but their comparisons are very helpful to see the directions taken at a programatic level in these three countries.
This is a joint three year project of the University of Tasmania and the ABS, where they work with 45 teachers across 3 states and with their students to improve statistical literacy in the middle schools. The aim is not only to improve statistical literacy generally but also to inspire and excite more students to go on to study statistics in later years of school and university. Having access to the CensusAtSchool resource, as well as the support of the ABS in running two-day conferences for teachers each year, creates a strong foundation for teacher professional development. StartSmart recognizes the pressures that may come from the tertiary sector, and those coming from developmental psychology, where what matters is that the students develop well enough the concepts that will lead them later to understan more advanced ones.
The Ministerio de Educaçāo of Brazil published the Curricular parameters for Kindergarden, Ensino fundamental and Ensino Medio, each to be found under the publications tab for each of those categories. The same web site contains other documents discussing the philosophy and aims. The page does not have too many supporting materials in the form of didactic examples for the classroom.
Government of British Columbia for early secondary level (Ages 13 to 15). The statistics guidelines are near the bottom of the page once you click on a specific grade level.
Government of British Columbia for upper secondary level. The statistics guidelines are under “Applications of Mathematics” separately for each grade level.
Government of British Columbia—Ministry of Education—Prescribed Learning Outcomes. Government of British Columbia—Ministry of Education—Prescribed Learning Outcomes For elementary and early secondary level. The statistics guidelines are near the bottom of the page.
The California State Board, K-12 Academic Content Standards include goals for probability and statistics of the whole data cycla at all grade levels from Kindtergarten to age twelve. For example, Kindergarten students are expected to: 1.1 Pose information questions; collect data; and record the results using objects, pictures, and picture graphs. 1.2 Identify, describe, and extend simple patterns (such as circles or triangles) by referring to their shapes, sizes, or colors. Standards-based mathematics curriculum is usually interpreted to mean curriculum aligned with the content standards prepared by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)(Bay et al., 1999). Otherwise known as the NCTM Standards, these documents are considered the most widely used of all school subject standards in the United States.The NCTM Standards recommend that the curriculum should place an emphasis on problem solving, reasoning, making connections between mathematical topics, communicating mathematical ideas and providing opportunity for all students to learn (NCTM, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000). The Standards also encourage the teaching of certain mathematical content, including algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, probability, discrete mathe- matics and calculus (NCTM, 1995). See below in this page for the most recent standards, 2006.
The most complete link to the School curriculum for math/stats in France is the official site of the ministry for the “collège” level (grade 6 to 9) and the “lycée” level (grade 10 to12) for the main”séries” L (literature) S (sciences) and ES (econonomy and social sciences). For the primary school primary school.
For the college, there is a recent text (April 2007) .
More detailed information on the french curriculums. Education Nationale. In this page, you can buy or consult the curriculum for the college (middle class, 4 years) and for the lycee (3 years).
Enseignement maritime part Référentiels
New Zealand is currently redesigning its curriculum and the Math and Statistics part of it is worth knowing about. The New Zealand Curriculum Draft 2006-2007 on page 19, introduces the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Curriculum Learning Areas]]. Clear goals for Statistical literacy and Statistical Thinking have been drafted in the document Mathematics and Statistics Curriculum Achievement Objectives. Noteworthy is the distinction made between Thinking goals and Literacy Goals in this last document.
In Canada, as in other countries, the data analyisis and probability curriculum is included in the math curriculum. The primary and secondary school Data management and Probability curriculum documents are available by grade at the Canadian Ministry of Education web site. Ontario Canada, is the most populous province which hosts about 40% of Canadian student population.
To support their secondary curriculum, there is a grade 12 high school math course entitled Mathematics of Data management for You (MDM4U). It is a university prep course that has the kids doing a culminating project with a large dataset and technology worth 20% of their mark. It covers, modelling and functions etc. The curriculum documents for this course are available starting at page 48 of The Grade 11 and 12 unit of the Curriculum guidelines.
The Portuguese School Curriculum for basic (cycles 1, 2, and 3) include basic training in statistical literacy. If you click on the blue link “Currículo Nacional do Ensino Básico - Competências Essenciais” you will see the curriculum for Basic education translated to English, too. At the secondary level (years 11 and 12), the curriculum only requires the study of probability and combinatorial counting methods. Data analysis does not appear in the requirements for secondary education. So it is no harm that it does not appear in English.
Readjustment to the Mathematics Program in Basic --Elementary + Middle School -- Education . Portugal is readjusting its program of Basic Education in the area of Mathematics, to make it more coordinated with the School Curriculum. The Document is a file in pdf file.
View the curriculum for grades 10-12 in South Africa. South Africa takes statistics in the math curriculum seriously. The South African Statistical Association has a web page on how data handling enters into the math curriculum. Visit their web page coverage of teaching of data handling.
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics Published by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (of USA and Canada)
Statisticians are trying to make the experience of students more pleasant and more useful for their lives. This is a book that tells you how they are trying to do that. With the title “Thinking and Reasoning with Data and Chance,” the recently published ** National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Sixty-Eighth Yearbook (2006)** NCTM yearbook promotes the idea that Statistics is the science of data and an important field of study for every student. Topics similar to those appearing in earlier Yearbooks can be found in this one, as well as new topics. The importance of research related to learning and teaching Statistics appears for the first time. And the focus of the book is on student and teacher learning through a set of data analysis activities, with the analysis aided by technology such as statistical software. Compared to other yearbooks, technology plays a predominant role in most of the articles featured in this yearbook.
Around the time of appearance of the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics 2000 yearbook, the GAISE guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistical Education appeared with A Pre-K-12 Framework. The Foundation for the Framework rested on the NCTM’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000). The Framework is intended to support and complement the objectives of the NCTM PSSM, not to supplant them. The ASA/NCTM Committee reviewed the GAISE document with the authors and other interested statistics educators. Participants in the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) project have created two reports of recommendations for introductory statistics courses (college level) and statistics education in PreK-12 years. The ASA officially endorses GAISE.
With Mathematics and Statistics College Board Standards for College Success the US College Board has created a set of standards for middle school and high school mathematics and statistics. The College Boards standards for statistics and probability are consistent with both the ASA’s GAISE recommendations and the recommendations of the NCTM’s Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Unlike GAISE and NCTM, the College Board proposes specific course level recommendations (which topics should be taught in which course in middle school and high school- Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-calculus). For example, Algebra II contains a standard for Statistics, “Standard AII.4. Experiments, Surveys and Observational Studies.” Objective AII.4 states what students must learn, and “Performance AII.4” states the skills that a student needs to master after this learning unit.
Tuning Educational Structures in Europe ia an attempt by the European Union to implement the Treaty of Bologna by which education at universities in Europe would tend to follow similar standards.
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