A major overhaul of the teaching of statistics and a change in policy makers’ appreciation of statistics is essential if advantage is to be taken of the increasing economic importance of data-driven technologies, concludes a report for The Royal Statistical Society and The Actuarial Profession, The Future of Statistics in our Schools and Colleges..

The report by education specialist, Roger Porkess, focuses on the ways statistics is taught and learnt in schools and colleges in England, with some evidence drawn from Wales and Northern Ireland.

The aim of the report, and the underlying research, is to provide an evidence base for the further development of the statistics provision in our schools and colleges.

Much teaching of statistics takes place within the mathematics part of the curriculum, but it also is highly relevant to other subject areas. The report finds that:

• There is a lack of co-ordination between the statistics in the mathematics curriculum and that needed in other subjects
• The importance of statistics as a practical subject is not recognised in the formal assessment system for mathematics at any level
• At almost all levels students do not engage in the full range of activities involved in using statistics to solve problems.

The report concludes that all students should be equipped with a working knowledge of basic statistics, including the necessary associated mathematical competence, and an appreciation of how it impacts on their daily lives.  Some of the report’s eighteen recommendations are:

• Policy makers need to appreciate that the need for statistics is not going to go away; instead it will increase as ever more data become available. They need to acknowledge the central role that statistics plays in the current and future economy, and its importance for decision making.
• The new National Curriculum should ensure not only that students meet a suitable statistics curriculum at all ages up to 16 but also that it prepares them for a future in which many of them will be using statistics in a wide variety of contexts throughout the rest of their lives.
• New courses for post-16 students will require careful design.  Their statistics content must be up-to-date and relevant to the future lives of the target students, whether in higher education or employment.
• To ensure that sufficient account is taken of the importance of statistics, and of its special requirements, it should be represented separately from mathematics, but alongside it, when policy decisions are being made.
• The assessment techniques used should ensure that, at every level, students carry out work covering all the processes required to use statistics to solve problems and make decisions.
• The statistics content within mathematics, up to GCSE, should include some topics that are either not currently covered or are only treated lightly.

Royal Statistical Society President, Professor Valerie Isham, says: “The results of the research carried out by Roger Porkess clearly highlight the issues and problems which hamper the relevant provision of sound statistical knowledge. They clearly support the argument that statistics cannot be ignored in either mathematics, or in a wide range of other taught subjects where problem definition, data collection, analysis and interpretation skills are essential to strengthen subject-specific knowledge.

“The recommendations flowing from this research are highly relevant not only for education policy development, but for policy development in other areas such as the labour market, industry and science. The Society will strongly pursue the recommendations and promote their relevance to all policy makers to ensure statistics is recognised as an essential discipline in all facets of the education landscape.”

Jane Curtis, President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, adds: “From working out the best deals in the supermarket to understanding trends and probabilities that affect decisions in business and politics, people’s ability to interpret data and their sources has never been more important. A good grounding in the application and use of statistics in schools is essential to everyday life and future education. That is why the Actuarial Profession is delighted to be sponsoring this timely and relevant report.”