High School Students' Levels of Thinking in Regard to Statistical Study Design

The study describes levels of thinking in regard to the design of statistical studies.<br>Clinical interviews were conducted with 15 students who were enrolled in high<br>school or were recent high school graduates, and who represented a range of<br>mathematical backgrounds. During the clinical interview sessions students were<br>asked how they would go about designing studies to answer several different<br>quantifiable questions. Several levels of sophistication were identified in their<br>responses, and are discussed in terms of the Biggs and Collis (1982, 1991) cognitive<br>model.