Dear Colleagues,

We write to make you aware of activities for This is Statistics this coming year. As a reminder, This is Statistics is the American Statistical Association public relations campaign to inform students, teachers, and parents about the many reasons to take a statistics course, if not many courses or a degree.

First, we are very excited that What’s Going On in This Graph (WGOITG), an activity for grades 7-12 with the New York Times Learning Network that started last year, will be weekly this year starting September 12. WGOITG facilitates teacher-led discussions of graphs that have appeared in the NYT and is meant to help students better understand and critically interpret graphs. For more on WGOITG, follow this link.

Second there will be two This is Statistics contests—with both high school and undergraduate categories—this year in which we hope you will engage your students. The fall contest, to be launched the second half of September, is a public data challenge focusing on the opioid epidemic. Please stay tuned for further details, monitor thisisstatistics.org, or follow @thisisstats. The spring contest will be the third annual Statsketball contest, engaging students in making predictions relating to the NCAA championship tournament for basketball. Please watch for details and announcement early in 2019.

Information on the opioid contest and WGOITG is below.

If you have ideas for This is Statistics and expanding our outreach on statistics, let us know.

Student Contest: Public Health Data Challenge

As of 2016, 2.1 million Americans have an opioid use disorder, and drug overdose deaths are now the leading cause of injury death in the United States. But some of the country’s top minds are working to fight this epidemic, and statisticians are helping to lead the charge. This is Statistic’s second annual fall contest challenges high school and college students to use statistics to dig into the data and come up with their own ideas to help end this important public health issue. Check ThisIsStatistics.org for updates in September.

What’s Going on In This Graph? Stats for Students 

“What’s Going on in This Graph?” returns on September 12 for the 2018-19 school year, featuring a data visualization from The New York Times stripped of contextual information. Then, it’s up to students to use their critical thinking skills and ask questions to deduce what the graph represents. Encourage students you know to participate in the discussion on The New York Times Learning Network website or with the tag #NYTGraphChat.

Thanks,

Rebecca

Rebecca Nichols 

Director of Education  

American Statistical Association
Promoting the Practice and Profession of Statistics®
732 North Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-1943
(703) 684-1221, Ext. 1877
Fax: (703) 684-3768
www.amstat.org