Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

AP Statistics (265) Course Syllabus 2015-2016

Contact Information
Brian McNeill
Burlington High School Math Dept. Chair
(781) 270-2933
Email: mcneill@bpsk12.org
Twitter: @bmcneill7

Online Resource: http://bhsapstatistics1.wikispaces.com/

Prerequisite Course(s): Pre-Calculus 250 or 251 (Honors or CPI)
Course Overview
The purpose of the AP Statistics course is to introduce students to the major
concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing and drawing conclusions from data. Students
are exposed to four broad conceptual themes: (1) Exploring Data: Describing patterns and
departures from patterns (2) Sampling and Experimentation: Planning and conducting a
study (3) Anticipating Patterns: Exploring random phenomena using probability and
simulation (4) Statistical Inference: Estimating population parameters and testing
hypotheses. Students who successfully complete the course and exam may receive credit,
advanced placement or both for a one-semester introductory college statistics course.
In addition to the AP Statistics coursework, students will work intimately with the
American Psychological Association (APA) style of research and writing. Topics will
include but not be limited to:
- Stylistic writing basics for an APA paper.
- Proper formatting of an APA paper.
- Research and reporting techniques.
- Statistical analysis of data and proper formatting of figures and charts in the
APA style.
- The completion of a culminating research paper.

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

Primary Texts
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association. (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Huff, D. (1954). How to lie with statistics. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.
Peck, R., Olsen, C., & Devore, J. (2001). Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis.
Pacific Grove CA: Duxbury Thomson Learning.
Yates, D., Moore, D., & McCabe, G. (1996). The Practice of Statistics. New York, NY:
W. H. Freeman and Co.

Technology
All students will be issued a TI-84 graphing calculator for use in class, at home,
and on the AP Exam. Students will use the graphing calculator extensively throughout
the course. The TI-84 will be used to:
1. Organize univariate data (create histograms, and boxplots)
2. Calculate measures of central tendency (mean, median, standard deviation,
variance, five number summary)
3. Examine density curves and the normal distribution. (calculate probabilities
under the normal curve)
4. Organize bivariate data (create scatter plots and residual plots)
5. Calculate linear regression as well as exponential and power regression.
6. Perform linear transformations to obtain exponential and power regressions.
7. Calculate binomial and geometric probabilities.
8. Calculate confidence intervals
9. Perform hypothesis testing
10. Perform t-tests and t-intervals
11. Perform proportion z-tests
12. Perform chi-square tests for goodness-of-fit and independence
13. Perform Linear Regression t-tests
Students will also take advantage of computer software available for summarizing
data, exploring data, analyzing data, and assessing models. In addition to the proficiency
gained in Microsoft Word through our work with the APA format, students will work
with Microsoft Excel to organize and display quantitative data. For some topics,
computer outputs from either Minitab or NCSS will be examined to further students
understanding.

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

In addition, as a 1:1 school at BHS students will have at their disposal any internet
resources that will help in their coursework. This includes Internet applets, iPad
applications, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, iTunes content and any other student generated
resources.

Summer Assignment
Before starting the AP Statistics course, all students will complete a prerequisite
summer assignment that will introduce some of the main themes in the study of statistics
as well as the stylistics of the APA format of writing. Students will read Darrell Huffs
How to Lie With Statistics (1954) and complete a 2-3-page scholarly book review written
in APA format.

Course Overview
The AP Statistics Course is broken up into five major sections.

Descriptive Statistics
Regression
Experimental Design
Probability
Inference

1) DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
a) Exploring Data
i) Displaying Distributions with Graphs
ii) Describing Distributions with Numbers
b) The Normal Distributions
i) Density Curves and Normal Distributions
ii) Standard Normal Calculations
2) REGRESSION
a) Examining Relationships
i) Scatterplots
ii) Correlation
iii) Least-Squares Regression
b) Two-Variable Data
i) Modeling Nonlinear Relationships
ii) Interpreting Correlation and Regression
iii) Relations in Categorical Data

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

3) EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
a) Producing Data
i) Designing Samples
ii) Designing Experiments
iii) Simulating Experiments
4) PROBABILITY
a) Probability: The Study of Randomness
i) Randomness
ii) Probability Models
b) Random Variables
i) Discrete and Continuous Random Variables
ii) Means and Variances of Random Variables
c) The Binomial and Geometric Distributions
i) The Binomial Distributions
ii) The Geometric Distributions
d) Sampling Distributions
i) Sampling Distributions
ii) Sample Proportions
iii) Sample Means
5) INFERENCE
a) Introduction to Inference
i) Estimating with Confidence
ii) Tests of Significance
iii) Using Significance Tests
iv) Inference as a Decision
b) Inference for Distributions
i) Inference for the Mean of a Population
ii) Comparing Two Means
c) Inference for Proportions
i) Inference for a Population Proportion
ii) Comparing Two Proportions
d) Inference for Tables: Chi-Square Procedures
i) Test for Goodness of Fit
ii) Inference for Two-Way Variables
e) Inference for Regression
i) Inference About the Model
ii) Inference About the Prediction
iii) Checking the Regression Assumptions

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

Writing Requirement
Students will work with the American Psychological Association (APA) style of
writing and conducting research to properly prepare them for success at the postsecondary level. With the completion of numerous short length papers throughout the
course of the year and the ultimate completion of a culminating research paper, students
will become proficient with:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Conducting research and gathering data

Analyzing data
Summarizing data in charts of figures in the APA format
Reviewing the literature surrounding a specific research topic
Drawing conclusions from observed data
Discussing possible implications of findings
Synthesizing a complete research report (Abstract, Introduction, Methods,
Results, Discussion, Conclusion) in proper APA format.

The research paper is a REQUIRED aspect of the AP Statistics course at Burlington

High School. Failure to complete the research paper will result in a final grade of
Incomplete. The grade of the finished research paper will be counted as the final exam
grade (10% of the overall course grade).
The research paper will be completed in stages:
I. The proposition of a testable problem statement.
Students will develop a testable problem statement that will eventually become
their research question. The problem should be something that is relevant to students
lives and interesting enough that a significant amount of work can be done on the topic.
The research question should also be testable through an empirical study. Questions that
are only testable through observational study may be accepted, but students should aim to
develop a question that will be examined through experimental design.
II. A review of the literature / development of a research paper introduction.
Students will review the existing literature surrounding their topic. Students will
first complete an annotated bibliography for at least 5 scholarly journal articles related to
the research question. Once the annotated bibliography is complete, students will write a
literature review in APA format that will eventually serve as the introduction to the final
research paper.

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

III. The design and implementation of an experiment to test the research question.
Once the research question has been developed and modified, and the existing
literature has been reviewed, students will design and carry out their experiments.
Students will first propose their experimental designs as well as their plans for data
collection. Once this formally written proposal is approved, the students will carry out
their designs and their data collection.
IV. Reporting of the Methods and Results of the experiment.
Once the experiments are completed and all of the data are collected, students will
thoroughly describe the methods and results of their empirical study. The methods
section will be written according to APA format and will include:
1. Details about participants
2. General location of the study
3. General timeframe for the study
4. Specifically how the research question was examined (the treatments
introduced)
5. The specific techniques for data collection and organization.
In addition to the methods section, students will report their data in a results section
according to APA format. The results section will include:
1. A concise summary of the qualitative and quantitative data collected.
2. Graphically organized data not limited to: two-way charts, pie charts, frequency
histograms, relative frequency histograms, scatter plots, and the normal
distribution.
3. A report of the statistical analysis of the data (i.e. regression lines and
correlation coefficients, hypothesis tests, etc.)
V. A discussion of the results and their implications.
Students will write a results section according to APA format in which they will
describe the meaning of their statistical analysis as well as the implications of their
findings. Here students should communicate their interpretations in the language of
statistics and make connections to their overall research question. This is also where
students will make a claim as to whether or not their hypothesis is supported.

Burlington High School Department of Mathematics

Burlington High School prepares students for lifelong learning and responsible citizenship by offering a
challenging, relevant curriculum and varied activities in a safe environment.

VI. Compilation of the paper and development of an effective abstract and conclusion.
Finally, students will write an effective conclusion. The conclusion should give
limitations of the study as well as areas for further research. Once completed, students
will write an abstract to effectively summarize the study. With all the parts finalized, the
students will submit their completed research paper according to APA format.

Grading Policies
Grades will be calculated quarterly using a total points system. A numeric grade will be
submitted as a percentage of the total points earned. Grades will be rounded to one
decimal place, without exception. A grade of 89.9% will NOT be rounded to 90.
Generally, quizzes and writing assignments will range from 10-40 points. Tests will
range from 40-100 points. Homework will be assigned regularly but will not be graded.
Homework completion is essential to success, but will not factor into the quarterly grade.
As with all courses at Burlington High, the overall course grade will be calculated as
follows:
Quarter 1:
Quarter 2:
Midterm:
Quarter 3:
Quarter 4:
Final Exam:
Overall:

20%
20%
10%
20%
20%
10%
100%