We encourage you to join us in celebrating World Statistics Day on Octoby planning a fun activity, such as the one suggest above, using the NCES Kids' Zone. Then, the class could calculate what percentage of the class responded correctly to certain items and graph that percentage along with the percentage of students who answered the question correctly in different regions of the U.S., or different countries. For example, everyone in class could answer a series of questions using Dare to Compare. Using this tool, you can create bar graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, area graphs, or you can choose an XY plot in order to plot individual points.

In fact, Create a Graph is one of the most frequently visited pages on the NCES website. 8th graders selected the correct response of Silicon on a past NAEP assessment.Ĭreate a Graph can be used by teachers and students. For example, on this question 87 percent of U.S.

After you answer the questions, your answers are scored and you can see how you compared to students in that age range either nationally or internationally. This feature of the NCES Kids' Zone allows you to choose questions (5, 10, 15, or 20) from different subject areas (Civics, Economics, Geography, History, Mathematics, or Science) asked at different grade levels depending on the subject selected (4th grade, 8th grade, 9th grade, or 12th grade). The above question is an example of an 8th grade mathematics question that can be answered using the Dare to Compare feature of the NCES Kids' Zone. While most of NCES’ products are designed for education stakeholders such as teachers, school administrators, and researchers, the Kids' Zone is designed for use by some of our most important consumers - students! The Kids' Zone contains features such as a dice game that helps students learn about probability and statistics, links to online tools where students can find information on their school, and a graph creation tool.Īccording to the graph above, which element forms the second greatest portion of the earth’s crust? We see that 'Time Spent Studying' must be the independent variable and 'Test Score' must be the dependent variable because the sentence doesn't make sense the other way around.Join us in celebrating World Statistics Day on October 20, 2015!

(Time Spent Studying) causes a change in (Test Score) and it isn't possible that (Test Score) could cause a change in (Time Spent Studying). (Independent variable) causes a change in (Dependent Variable) and it isn't possible that (Dependent Variable) could cause a change in (Independent Variable). Then you can figure out which is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable: An easy way to remember is to insert the names of the two variables you are using in this sentence in they way that makes the most sense. Many people have trouble remembering which is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable. Usually when you are looking for a relationship between two things you are trying to find out what makes the dependent variable change the way it does. For example, a test score could be a dependent variable because it could change depending on several factors such as how much you studied, how much sleep you got the night before you took the test, or even how hungry you were when you took it. It is something that depends on other factors. In fact, when you are looking for some kind of relationship between variables you are trying to see if the independent variable causes some kind of change in the other variables, or dependent variables.Īnswer: Just like an independent variable, a dependent variable is exactly what it sounds like. Other factors (such as what they eat, how much they go to school, how much television they watch) aren't going to change a person's age. For example, someone's age might be an independent variable. It is a variable that stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure. Question: What's an independent variable?Īnswer: An independent variable is exactly what it sounds like. There are two types of variables-independent and dependent. What are Independent and Dependent Variables?Īnswer: A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category you are trying to measure. What are Independent and Dependant Variables? How to Choose Which Type of Graph to Use?

Kids zone graphing