In April 1983, the Madison Commission on Excellence in Education reported that we are a "Nation at Risk" in that we are setting for mediocrity in education and that our students are insufficiently prepared in mathematics, science, and other related areas. This report included the recommendation that high school students must be equipped to understand probability and statistics. In Educating Americans for the Twenty-First Century, the National Science Board on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology (1983) expressed its concern that "statistics and probability should now be considered fundamental for all high school students." The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Agenda for Action: Recommendations for School Mathematics of the 1980's concluded that school mathematics must focus on problem solving and should integrate "the problem-solving capabilities of the computer" into the classroom in order "to implement new strategies of interaction and simulation.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education