Assessing Statistical Literacy: A Question of Interpretation?

Current school curriculum documents stress the need for assessment to support learning. Teachers use assessment information to infer students' development and plan appropriate intervention. In order to do this, a framework is needed within which the assessment can be developed and interpreted, and a suitable task is required to obtain the necessary information about students' performances. The responses of 586 students to performance assessment tasks developed for the purpose of assessing a numeracy construct, rather than statistical understanding, were analysed against a previously identified hierarchy of Statistical Literacy. The findings suggest that the tasks provided reliable and interpretable evidence of performance in Statistical Literacy, using a classroom-based process rather than a traditional test.