Sufficiently Assessing teachers' statistical literacy

Teachers are inundated with data, including reports from mandated testing. Interpreting these requires professional statistical literacy, involving technical statistical knowledge and the capacity to interpret data meaningfully in the context of teachers’ professional work. For a study investigating teachers’ data use, the authors developed instruments for assessing statistical literacy based on typical reports and the critical components of statistical literacy required to understand them. Designing an instrument that assessed workplace-relevant statistical knowledge, and did not take too long to complete, involved design choices through a process of beginning with an initial pen-and-paper design and then designing an online version with automated marking. This paper will examine some of these design issues and their impact on assessing teachers’ statistical literacy prior to providing appropriate professional learning.