This course offers a combination of assessment and instruction in an online environment containing but not limited to the areas of exploring data, sampling and experimentation by planning and conducting studies, anticipating patterns using probability and simulation, and using statistical inference to analyze data and draw conclusions.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a deep understanding of the concepts of statistics to prepare them for the AP Exam and for future higher education statistics courses. Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to
- Classify variables
- Describe and display data
- Measure position of statistics within a data set
- Describe data relative to a normal distribution
- Calculate relevant statistics with a graphing calculator
- Use scatter plots and correlation coefficients to quantify correlations between bivariate data
- Find least-squares regression lines using a graphing calculator
- Calculate residuals and interpret the meanings of slopes and y-intercepts in order to make predictions
- Identify exponential, logarithmic, and power transformations of data
- Decide whether a linear model fits a data set and which transformation model is appropriate
- Identify whether real-world data collection scenarios are examples of simple random sampling
- Identify subjects, treatments, and response variables in an experimental design and whether the design incorporates appropriate methods to introduce randomization in collecting data
- Distinguish correlation from causation
- Use rules of probability to solve problems, perform simulations, and model random behavior in real-world contexts
- Classify probability distributions as discrete or continuous
- Calculate expected values and use them to solve problems
- Analyze the effects of linear transformations on the mean and variance
- Describe, calculate, and graph distributions of a binomial random variable and a geometric random variable
Course Outline:
Module 1: Exploring Data
Module 2: Exploring Relationships
Module 3: Collecting Data
Module 4: Probability and Random Variables
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits. This course includes lessons in alignment to the following College Board approved textbook: Starnes, Daren S., Josh Tabor, Dan Yates, and David Moore. The Practice of Statistics, 5th ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2014. Note: All course materials apart from those listed in the Additional Costs section below are included for the student within the online course.
Additional Costs: Students are required to purchase and use personal graphing calculators while completing the course. Calculator use is detailed throughout the course. Each module in the course has sections on calculator use to give the students instruction and practice with the statistical capabilities of the calculator. The course recommends a TI-83 or a TI-84 and contains instructions for these calculators at various key points, as well as how to use the calculator under certain circumstances. Course instruction, practice free-response items, and formative and summative assessments require that students use the calculator to interpret results and support conclusions including written explanations of results obtained using the calculator. All problems that specify the use of the calculator require students to interpret results obtained using the calculator and verbally or through written communication support conclusions rather than merely giving the specific answer to the mathematical problem only. Students are encouraged to review The College Board graphing calculator policy for AP Statistics.
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school mentor is also able to access this score within the Student Learning Portal. Schools may use this score for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Lightweight devices such as Apple iPads, Google Chromebooks, and tablets have limited support for Java or Flash which still appear in a small percentage of our catalog. While FLVS does not offer technical support for these devices, FLVS is working to remove Flash from their remaining course content. Students will need extra work-around steps or alternate browsers to engage with some portions of those courses. FLVS recommends students have a Windows or Mac based computer available to complete coursework in the event that your selected mobile device does not meet the needs of the course. Fully supported Operating Systems for FLVS courses include Windows (10 or higher) and MacOS (11 or higher). Supported Browsers include the most recent versions of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari on devices that support Java and HTML5. Browsers need to be up to date, and some FLVS courses may require installation or enabling of the following Plug-ins: JavaScript enabled, Cookies enabled, Java installed. https://www.flvs.net/student-parent-resources/more/system-requirements
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Students are assessed through a combination of quizzes, review assignments, module tests, oral assessments, and the final exam.
- Students take an online, randomized multiple-choice quiz every lesson. These quizzes give them instant feedback as to their understanding of the lessons.
- The Discussion-Based Assessments and collaborative lessons are designed so that students must evaluate, justify, and verbally defend problems identified to align with module- or semester- level topics. Students receive detailed feedback about their methods, process, and understanding, and they must reach a certain level of proficiency on the assignment (through resubmitting if necessary) before being allowed to take the module test for that unit.
- Each module test contains two parts. The first part is a 12-question online randomized multiple-choice test, and the second part is a 5-question essay exam in which students are required to show their work for each question. They must explain, using the language and vocabulary of statistics, how they arrived at their answers. This written portion is worth significantly more than the actual answer itself. The instructor scores the free-response essays using College Board standards for Essentially Correct, Partially Correct, and Incorrect.
- Students are required to engage the teacher in verbal communication to receive any help if desired, to be ready to defend their quiz or test answers and explain the solutions to their problems orally if requested, and to answer essay-level questions and be able to discuss these questions thoroughly and accurately.
- Students are assigned a final project at the end of the second segment as a major and formal assignment for the purpose of connecting various parts of the statistical process.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information:The official course descriptions for Advanced Placement courses and information about their exams are located on the College Board site at a http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html.
Michigan Virtual prepares students in AP courses for the AP exam, but does not offer the exam test itself. It is the responsibility of the school or parent to register for a local administration of the AP exam.
There are required due dates in AP courses. The pacing of due dates in AP courses aligns to the completion of all lessons and required assignments and assessments prior to the national AP exam date related to this course title. The calendar of AP exam dates is published by the College Board (Exam Calendar).