AP Stats Summer Assignment 2016-2017
- The summer assignment is to read Chapters 1-6 in the AP Stats textbook and complete Reading Logs for Chapters 3, 4, and 5 which are posted on AP STATS website under Mrs. Clark
- During the summer, additional notes and practice tests will be posted on Mrs. Clark’s AP Stats website to assist students with the material in the first 6 chapters.
- Thestudent AND parent(s) should e-mail me () as soon as possible so that I can put their e-mail addresses on my e-mail list so that students and parents can be contacted on updates to the summer assignment or additional information for the course.
- After the first two weeks of school, students will take a test on materialfrom chapters 1-5. Students will have an opportunity before the test to ask questions concerning the material from chapters 1-5.Mrs. Clark will be available for questions the week before school starts and during class time.
- Continue to check your e-mail throughout the summer for updates and additional information on AP Stats.
One: Strive for a 5, but don’t obsess about it.
Two: The course ends June14.
Three: You must be present to learn and earn.
Four: There may be work to be done over breaks and on snow days.
Five: FLEX is productive, not optional.
Six: Check your email and the website DAILY.
Seven: Absence is never an excuse.
Eight: “AP” really stands for “Always Practicing.”
Getting to Know AP Stats
Although this is a math course, AP Statistics concentrates much more heavily on thinking, reasoning, writing, and communicating than it does on number-crunching. Graphing calculators and computer software programs do most of the tedious “busy work” for us now-a-days.
This course is focused on
- exploring data. What patterns in a set of data do you see? What do these tell us about the data? What can we learn from them?
- sampling and experimenting. What plan would you implement to conduct a study? Can you effectively write a proposal for simulating a real-world situation?
- anticipating patterns. What can you surmise about random phenomena by using probability? How can you extrapolate your model into the future? What might you hope to have happen?
- statistical inference. How can you apply given parameters to your test hypothesis to see if it is valid?
Students who wish to take AP Stats and perform well must have
- a committed work ethic. There are notes – every day. There is homework – every night. There is a quiz or test – every week. There are long-term investigative tasks – every chapter. The amount of time that should be set aside for work outside the classroom is at least equal to the amount of time spent in the classroom.
- great listening skills. Some of the best learning comes from hearing other students ask the questions that are troubling you.
- initiative. Students must be willing to go beyond what is asked of them and do what is expected of an AP student.
- a good ability to work with others. The course requires students, daily, to cooperatively problem-solve. Along with instruction and assessment, successful group work is a necessity.
- the willingness to build interdisciplinary connections with other subjects. An appreciation for how statistics is connected to the world outside the classroom (and a broad base of general knowledge about the world) is key.
- their own TI-84+ calculator and a working email account that is checked every night. Along with a daily check of the class website, these tools are essential to succeeding in the course.
- a desire to score a 5 on the AP Exam. Anything less than this as a goal will show, both in decreased enthusiasm for the class and in earned grades.
AP Stats is a college-level course. It is taught that way. The course is not for students looking for an
easy A…you won’t get one. The course is not for students looking to only work with numbers…only a small fraction of the year is actually spent on numbers. The course is not for students who are overly scheduled…taking even two other AP courses may be too much to devote the time needed to this class. This course is not for students for whom attendance is an issue…the class is taught from bell to bell and something meaningful is happening every minute of every period.
AP Stats is fun, interesting, exciting, and educational. For those who are up to the challenge, let the enjoyment begin.