Survey and research on the levels of high school students’ critical evaluation of statistical information and the infl uence factors

Abstract

This chapter presents a test and analysis on the levels of critical evaluation of statistical information and the influence factors among 229 grade one students in a key senior high school in Shandong Province, China. The study concludes that many students are in the low level of critical evaluation of statistical information. The students lack the knowledge and skill for critical evaluation of statistical information. There is no significant gender difference in critical evaluation of statistical information. The students’ levels of critical evaluation of statistical information can be influenced by attending a survey on statistics. Further analysis on test questions shows that three factors may directly influence the students’ levels of critical evaluation of statistical information, namely, statistical knowledge, conditional knowledge, and statistical activity. Based on the above-mentioned conclusions, three suggestions for statistical teaching in senior high school are proposed.