PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2014
Denver, Colorado
An Investigation of College Students’ Statistical Literacy
Page: 646
Statistics educators consider statistical literacy a vital skill because it supports students in thinking critically about the way data is used in everyday social, political and medical contexts. Statistical literacy goes beyond simply reading graphs to include interpreting their meaning and evaluating, with a questioning attitude, the information being presented (Shaughnessy, 2007; Gal, 2002; Watson & Moritz, 1997). Watson (1997) describes statistical literacy in terms of a three-tiered hierarchy delineating the skills necessary for interpreting stochastic information.