Category: News
Fall Data Challenge 2020: Meet the Judges
October 20, 2020
This is Statistics’ fifth annual Fall Data Challenge, Get Out the Vote, is right around the corner! You and your classmates will have the opportunity to work in teams to apply your statistical skills to real voter-turnout data and provide insights to inspire more people to vote in the upcoming election. The submission window opens on October 19. With contest submissions opening soon, we want to introduce the real-life statisticians, with experience in election...
How to Create Data Subsets for the 2020 Fall Data Challenge
October 09, 2020
The 2020 Fall Data Challenge: Get Out the Vote submission window is almost here! In preparation, you can begin reviewing the dataset with your team now. For this year’s challenge, all submissions must utilize the IPUMS-ASA U.S. Voting Behaviors dataset. This rich dataset includes information about voting behaviors in the U.S. over the past 14 years, including 28 variables...
Fall Data Challenge: Resources Roundup, Stats to Increase Voter Turnout
September 21, 2020
This year’s Fall Data Challenge theme is “Get Out the Vote!” As the submission window draws near, let’s get inspired with some examples of how statistics contributes to this important aspect of America’s democratic process. According to Census Bureau data, 53 percent of voting age citizens voted in the 2018 election, an historically high voter-turnout rate compared...
New York Times Learning Network’s “What’s Going On in This Graph?” Returns for 2020-2021 School Year
September 15, 2020
The American Statistical Association (ASA) and The New York Times Learning Network released a new “What’s Going On in This Graph?” last week to mark the beginning of the academic year. Once a week from September to May, this ongoing feature shares a graph from a recent New York Times article without any contextual information. This gives students the opportunity to apply their statistical knowledge and critical thinking skills to deduce key...
Announcing the 2020 Fall Data Challenge: Get Out the Vote
August 17, 2020
ASA’s annual student Fall Data Challenge is back! Looking to gain statistics experience and make a difference in the world? Our Fall Data Challenge is the perfect contest for you. In this year’s challenge, Get Out the Vote, students will work in teams of two to five to apply their statistical skills to real voter-turnout data...
Meet Sharon Hessney, the Educator Behind the New York Times Learning Network’s “What’s Going On In This Graph?”
July 16, 2020
Sharon Hessney is an award-winning mathematics teacher in Boston and graph curator for the New York Times Learning Network’s “What’s Going In This Graph?” feature. She gave This is Statistics an in-depth look into her work and advice for students looking to start careers in the statistics field. Who inspired you to work in statistics education? The Advanced Placement Statistics community of experienced statistics teachers. AP Statistics emphasizes...
Congrats to Our 2020 #StatsGrad Winner
July 09, 2020
Thanks to all the students, parents and teachers who celebrated 2020 graduates with us by entering the June #StatsGrad contest! We’ve enjoyed looking through the your messages and videos submitted during our 2020 #StatsGrad contest. We’re excited to announce Erin Bugbee as this year’s winner! Erin received her Bachelor of Science degree with honors in statistics and Bachelor of Arts degree in behavioral decision sciences from Brown University. She is excited to continue her studies at Carnegie Mellon University as a behavioral decision...
2020 #StatsGrads, Parents and Teachers, Celebrate with Us & Enter to Win
June 08, 2020
Students, even though the pandemic has changed the way your graduation is commemorated, your statistics degree is still something to celebrate! We invite you, your parents and statistics educators to celebrate with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #StatsGrad. #StatsGrad submissions will be shared on the This is Statistics blog, and one lucky winner will get a...
Curious About Statistics Careers? Ask Us Anything on Reddit!
June 04, 2020
Statistics isn’t what you think it is! With a career in statistics, the science of learning from data, you can change the world, have fun, satisfy curiosity and make a good salary. As students graduate and plan their career paths all over the country, we’re celebrating with Reddit to host an AMA focused on the...
Congratulations, 2020 Stats Grads!
May 21, 2020
Congratulations to all the 2020 high school and college graduates! Although you are most likely to celebrate this special moment virtually instead of in an auditorium with your classmates, family, and friends, don’t forget to take the time to acknowledge your hard work and celebrate this amazing milestone in your life. Despite the unusual circumstances you graduate in amid the pandemic, an...