Cover: UPDATED Version of The Practice of Statistics, 6th Edition by Daren S. Starnes; Josh Tabor

UPDATED Version of The Practice of Statistics

Sixth Edition  ©2020 Daren S. Starnes; Josh Tabor

Authors

  • Headshot of Daren Starnes

    Daren Starnes

    Daren Starnes has taught a variety of statistics courses—including AP® Statistics, Introductory Statistics, and Mathematical Statistics—for 25 years. He earned his MA in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and his BS in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Daren has been a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader for the AP® Statistics exam for over 20 years. As a College Board consultant since 1999, Daren has led hundreds of workshops for AP® Statistics teachers throughout the United States and overseas. He frequently presents in-person and online sessions about statistics teaching and learning for high school and college faculty. Daren is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the American Statistical Association (ASA), the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), and the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE). He served on the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on the Curriculum in Statistics and Probability for six years. While on the committee, he edited the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) pre-K–12 report. Daren is also coauthor of the popular on-level text Statistics and Probability with Applications (now in its fifth edition) and of the new college text Introductory Statistics: A Student-Centered Approach. Daren and his wife Judy enjoy traveling, rambling walks, jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with their three sons and seven grandchildren.


  • Headshot of Josh Tabor

    Josh Tabor

    Josh Tabor has enjoyed teaching on-level and AP® Statistics to high school students for more than 26 years, most recently at The Potter’s School. He received a BS in Mathematics from Biola University, in La Mirada, California. In recognition of his outstanding work as an educator, Josh was named one of the five finalists for Arizona Teacher of the Year in 2011. He is a past member of the AP® Statistics Development Committee (2005–2009) as well as an experienced Reader, Table Leader, Question Leader, and Exam Leader at the AP® Statistics Reading since 1999. In 2013, Josh was named to the SAT® Mathematics Development Committee. Each year, Josh leads one-week AP® Summer Institutes and one-day College Board workshops around the country and frequently speaks at local, national, and international conferences. In addition to teaching and speaking, Josh has authored articles in The American Statistician, The Mathematics Teacher, STATS Magazine, and The Journal of Statistics Education. Combining his love of statistics and love of sports, Josh teamed with Christine Franklin to write Statistical Reasoning in Sports, an innovative textbook for on-level statistics courses. Josh is also coauthor of the popular on-level text - Statistics and Probability with Applications (now in its fifth edition) and the new college text Introductory Statistics: A Student-Centered Approach. Outside of work, Josh enjoys gardening, traveling, and playing board games with his family.

Table of Contents

Unit 1: Exploring One-Variable Data
Chapter 1: Data Analysis
Chapter 2: Modeling Distributions of Quantitative Data

Unit 2: Exploring Two-Variable Data 
Chapter 3: Exploring Two-Variable Quantitative Data

Unit 3: Collecting Data
Chapter 4: Collecting Data

Unit 4: Probability, Random Variables, and Probability Distributions
Chapter 5: Probability
Chapter 6: Random Variables and Probability Distributions

Unit 5: Sampling Distributions
Chapter 7: Sampling Distributions

Unit 6: Inference for Categorical Data: Proportions
Chapter 8: Estimating Proportions with Confidence
Chapter 9: Testing Claims about Proportions

Unit 7: Inference for Quantitative Data: Means  
Chapter 10: Estimating Means with Confidence
Chapter 11: Testing Claims about Means

Unit 8: Inference for Categorical Data: Chi-Square
Unit 9: Inference for Quantitative Data: Slopes
  
Chapter 12: Inference for Distributions and Relationships 

Product Updates

From Daren and Josh:
In "Classic" 6e (and 4e/5e), inference chapters are organized by the type of inference: confidence intervals for single samples (Chapter 8), significance tests for single samples (Chapter 9), and significance tests and confidence intervals for two samples (Chapter 10). In "Updated" 6e, inference chapters are organized by type of data, to match the CED: inference for proportions (Chapters 8–9) and inference for means (Chapters 10–11). In both books, chi-square tests and inference for slope wrap up the chapters on inference.

A number of  important structural changes were made  in the UPDATED sixth edition to ensure tight alignment with the AP® Statistics Course and Exam Description, including:  

  • Transforming to achieve linearity moved from Section 12.2 to Section 3.3 in UPDATED TPS 6e, so Chapter 3 now aligns with College Board’s Unit 2: Exploring Two-Variable Data in the Course Framework.
  • Sampling distribution of a difference in proportions moved from Section 10.1 to Section 7.2 in UPDATED TPS 6e; sampling distribution of a difference in means moved from Section 10.2 to Section 7.3 in UPDATED TPS 6e.
  • Inference completely reorganized to match Course Framework units:

The 4-step “State-Plan-Do-Conclude” process that is primarily intended to help students answer inference questions on the AP® exam, is now only developed only in the inference chapters (8-12) of the Updated TPS6e.  Further, a streamlined two-step process for Normal distribution and Binomial distribution calculations has been introduced in the UPDATED sixth edition to match recent AP® rubrics. 

Here are specific content changes made in the UPDATED sixth edition based on the AP® Statistics Course Framework.

Chapter 1

  • Added mosaic plots.
  • Added margin note discussing mean ± 2 or 3 SD criterion for outliers.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - discrete vs. continuous quantitative variables
    - descriptive statistics vs. inferential statistics
    - statistic vs. parameter
    - unimodal (single-peaked), bimodal (double-peaked), approximately uniform
    - variance vs. standard deviation

Chapter 2

  • Changed definition of percentile to less than or equal to, with equivalent changes to cumulative relative frequency graphs.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - empirical rule (68-95-99.7 rule)


Chapter 3

  • Removed the term “outlier” in Section 3.1, as it has a more restrictive meaning in the course framework. Replaced with “unusual value.”
  • Changed the equation of the least-squares regression line to .
  • Introduced term “high-leverage point” as one whose x value is far from . Also, restricted the use of “outlier” to points with big residuals. Both high-leverage points and outliers can be influential points.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - univariate vs. bivariate data

Chapter 4

  • Added systematic random sampling.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - homogeneous vs. heterogeneous
    - prospective vs. retrospective observational studies

Chapter 5

  • Changed “chance process” to “random process”.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - trial
    - empirical vs. theoretical probability
    - disjoint (mutually exclusive)
    - joint probability

Chapter 6

  • Expanded discussion of 10% condition and independent observations.
  • Increased coverage of geometric random variables to include shape, center (mean), and variability (SD) of the probability distribution.
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - probability distribution vs. population distribution; parameter
    - cumulative probability distribution
    - linear transformation vs. linear combination

Chapter 7

  • Increased emphasis on the 10% condition, including idea that the traditional formulas for  and overestimate the actual SD when sampling without replacement (but the difference is negligible when the 10% condition is met).
  • Emphasized terminology:
    - point estimator
    - randomization distribution
    - independent observations vs. independent samples

Chapters 8–11

  • For each inference procedure, the conditions are introduced by stating that we need to check for independence in data collection methods (Random condition, 10% condition when sampling without replacement) and that the sampling distribution is approximately Normal (Large Counts, Normal/Large Sample).

Chapter 8

  • Emphasized that a confidence interval is an interval estimate of plausible values for a parameter based on sample data.
  • Emphasized that a confidence level represents the long-run capture rate when conditions are met.
  • Modified generic formula for a confidence interval to use “standard error” rather than “standard deviation” to align with the new formula sheet.
  • Emphasized that a confidence interval for a proportion can be used to create other intervals (e.g., for the total number of successes in a population).

Chapter 9

  • Modified generic formula for a standardized test statistic to include standard deviation (error) of statistic in the denominator to align with the new formula sheet.
  • Emphasized that the P-value is the probability of getting evidence for Ha as strong or stronger than the observed evidence when H0 is true, assuming the probability model is valid (conditions are met).
  • Adjusted the decision rule for rejecting H0 to P-value ≤ α instead of P-value < α.
  • For a two-sample z test of H0: p1 – p2 = 0, the Large Counts condition now uses expected counts calculated with the pooled (combined) proportion instead of observed counts.

Chapters 10 and 11

  • Encouraged use of df from technology for two-sample t procedures.
  • Placed paired data procedures immediately after two-sample procedures to help students differentiate these methods.

Chapter 12

  • Emphasized that the chi-square statistic measures how far observed counts are from expected counts, relative to expected counts.
  • Changed the equation of the population regression model to .
    Modified the Normal condition for inference about slope: At each x value, the distribution of y values is approximately Normal OR n ≥ 30.
  • Added mention of a one-parameter model (with y intercept = 0) that uses df = n – 1 (otherwise df = n – 2 when estimating both the slope and y intercept).

In addition to the content changes, the Updated 6th edition has been refined to provide  more and better support for the diverse population of students that takes AP® Statistics today.

NEW – Many of the Examples now include Teacher Talk boxes that feature the voice of the teacher to guide students through the appropriate steps in the solution.

NEW -  More detailed Chapter Review Exercise Videos that augment the Section Example and Exercise Videos and help students prepare for the Chapter AP® Practice Test.

Activities and NEW Chapter Projects – with more than 30 built in Activities and 5 Chapter Projects, students are encouraged to learn by simulation and by “doing” statistics.   The activities and projects may be used to support collaborative learning as well as deeper investigation and study


Utilizing technology and extensive support for student success.

The Practice of Statistics is the most trusted program for AP® Statistics because it provides teachers and students with everything they need to be successful in the statistics course and on the AP® Exam.  With the expert authorship of high school AP® Statistics veterans, Daren Starnes and Josh Tabor and their supporting team of AP® teacher/leaders, The UPDATED Practice of Statistics, Sixth edition features a revised organization to match the new unit structure in the 2019-2020 Course Framework for AP® Statistic perfectly.

While developing this updated edition, the authors ensured that every College Board Learning Objective and Essential Knowledge statement in the 2019-2020 Course Framework is addressed fully.   In addition, all of the required skills --  selecting statistical methods, data analysis, using probability and simulation, and statistical argumentation -- are integrated in the student edition and are clearly identified in the Updated Teacher’s Edition to help teachers reinforce them at point of use.

The Updated Practice of Statistics program combines a data analysis approach with the power of technology, innovative pedagogy, and an extensive support program entirely refreshed to reflect the changes that will allow teachers to use the revised College Board organization and content seamlessly.  The Updated edition features an extensive set of resources including  a robust online homework program, the extensively revised Test Bank, a comprehensive set of videos, and the Teacher’s Edition and Teacher’s Resource Materials, giving teachers and students everything they need to realize success on the exam and in the course.

Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.

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UPDATED ExamView Assessment Suite for The Practice of Statistics

Daren S. Starnes; Josh Tabor | Sixth Edition | ©2020 | ISBN:9781319269357
The Practice of Statistics is the most trusted program for AP® Statistics because it provides teachers and students with everything they need...
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UPDATED Teacher's Edition for The Practice of Statistics

Daren S. Starnes; Josh Tabor | Sixth Edition | ©2020 | ISBN:9781319269326
The Practice of Statistics is the most trusted program for AP® Statistics because it provides teachers and students with everything they need...
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UPDATED Teacher's Resource Flash Drive for The Practice of Statistics

Daren S. Starnes; Josh Tabor | Sixth Edition | ©2020 | ISBN:9781319269371
The Practice of Statistics is the most trusted program for AP® Statistics because it provides teachers and students with everything they need...
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