A Case Study of Knowledge of Key Statistical Concepts Before and After an Introductory Statistics Class

In this paper, a case study is presented that investigates some of the key concepts that students taking an introductory statistics class bring with them as they begin the class, as well as those they take with them as they leave the class. Because of the small size of the class that was investigated (n = 36), any conclusions are only indicative. The idea behind this study is that as our first-year students are increasingly exposed in high school to statistical concepts, techniques and facts, they should bring this information into our first-year classes, and hence it would be useful to investigate what, if anything, should change in our courses or curricula as a result. This study showed that students arrive in a first-year class with some knowledge, and that they leave at the end of the class with just a little more than they started with.