I often hear math teachers and others talk about the importance of the study of statistics in high school, and how they believe it’s unfairly shunned, in favor of other math studies, particularly calculus. There are others who say statistics, in fact, is getting its due. The College Board, for instance, offers an AP test in that subject and sometimes you’ll hear of a high school offering some other kind of statistics-focused course.
The New York Times has a story this week about the growing need for statisticians in the job market, which they suggest is a result of the rise of digital data. The story draws from such varied examples as Netflix, IBM, and the White House Office of Management of Budget to make its case. What should be the role of statistics in the K-12 system, and how does it mesh with other areas of math?