Development of Numerical and Graph Interpretation Skills - Prerequisites for Statistical Literacy

This study considers the performance of students in Grades 5 to 10 on four tasks assessing students' ability to evaluate data presented in numerical form, for example, in a list or table, or in graphical form, for example, in a frequency graph or scatter graph. The ability to tell a story from data or a graph is an important aspect of statistical literacy. The samples provide the opportunity to consider the association of two pairs of items, one from each type of interpretation, numerical and graphical. Educational implications for the outcomes and the classroom use of the items are considered.