Statistics and probability have become an integral part of mathematics education. Therefore it is
important to understand whether curricular materials adequately represent statistical ideas. The
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) report (Franklin,
Kader, Mewborn, Moreno, Peck, Perry, & Scheaffer, 2007), endorsed by the American
Statistical Association, provides a two-dimensional (process and level) framework for statistical
learning. This paper examines whether the statistics content contained in the NSF funded
elementary curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, Math Trailblazers, and
Everyday Mathematics aligns with the GAISE recommendations. Results indicate that there are
differences in the approaches used as well as the GAISE components emphasized among the
curricula. In light of the fact that the new Common Core State Standards have placed little
emphasis in statistics in the elementary grades, it is important to ensure that the minimal amount
of statistics that is presented aligns well with the recommendations put forth by the statistics
community. The results in this paper provide insight as to the type of statistical preparation
students receive when using the NSF funded elementary curricula. As the Common Core places
great emphasis on statistics in the middle grades, these results can be used to inform whether
students will be prepared for the middle school Common Core goals.
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