Literature Index

In this paper we focus mainly on the expansion of instruction. Specifically, we examine existing approaches and programs for teaching statistics primarily from the perspective of their ability to reach teachers working with the majority of U.S. students, in "average" or "below average" schools, and who, so far, had made little or no effort to teach statistics. Such teachers often teach the "forgotten halfs" (the 50% or so of U.S. students who do not go to college), the students who may go to college but drop out, and the students who will not be exposed to statistics education after leaving high school. In particular, we examine programs offered to mathematics educators where, ever since the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has formally included a strand on statistics in its 1989 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards, attempts to introduce statistics into U.S. schools seem to be most visible.

I would like to organize my remarks by pointing out the central issue raised by each previous paper and then raising some questions for each author.

Data handling has recently been introduced in the United Kingdom as a major component of the mainstream school mathematics curriculum. A survey of teachers in Northern Ireland showed that they are generally not well prepared to teach new material, particularly probability.

Quantitative literacy addresses citizen's needs to function knowledgably in a society that is data-intensive. Such literacy is as necessary as reading and writing. Colleges and universities fulfill this educational imperative with a variety of goals and requirements. To equip students for life in the Computer Era, a sharper focus is called for , in undergraduate education for numeracy.