Subject Assessment requirements Teaching and learning opportunities Art and
Design
None. Although there is 60%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
Students are expected to show evidence of research in their portfolio of work. According to their choice of theme, this allows the possibility of some statistical work in using a survey to determine, for example, the factors people regard as important in a particular design.
Biology Practical work is the subject of Controlled Assessment. In Biology, the work involves sampling, data collection and interpretation. It contributes 25%
to the overall assessment.
Natural variability is part of the fabric of biology and so statistical methods are relevant to almost all aspects of the subject. Particularly rich opportunities arise through field and practical work: designing experiments, sampling and data collection leading to data display and interpretation.
Business Studies
Business Studies candidates are required to carry out some research, including data collection and presentation;
there is 25% Controlled Assessment. Also, some of the examination questions require interpretation of data.
There are many opportunities for the use of statistics in business studies. Students are expected to interpret graphs, charts and data about finance and to perform break-even analysis, with obvious connections to statistics.
While the use of secondary data fits naturally into many aspects of this subject, market research provides particularly rich
opportunities for the use of the statistics cycle.
Chemistry Practical work is the subject of Controlled Assessment. In Chemistry, the work involves data collection and
interpretation. It contributes 25%
to the overall assessment.
Practical work in chemistry often gives rise to data. However, sampling is rarely involved.
The same is true of experimental design; most experiments in chemistry at this level use standard techniques. The variability in the data is usually due to experimental error but this still presents opportunities for statistical work;
suitable techniques can be used to estimate it and to display it on diagrams. In addition, chemistry students have many opportunities to use the data presentation techniques they have learnt in mathematics.
Citizenship Studies
None. Although there is 60%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
Two aspects of citizenship present particularly rich opportunities. One of these is the idea of risk, requiring understanding and interpretation of probability. The other is understanding information and data from a variety of sources, including advertising and the media.
Design and Technology
None. Although there is 60%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
The properties of materials provide opportunities for students to learn about natural variability. In real life, understanding EWUVQOGTUŏVCUVGKUCPKORQTVCPVEQPUKFGTCVKQP in product design; research into this provides opportunities for statistical work.
Economics The assessment is entirely by examination. Some of the questions require candidates to interpret and display data. At times this is done in the context of particular economic models (e.g. elasticity), representations (e.g. supply-demand curves) and indices (e.g. RPI).
Economics offers many opportunities for data presentation and interpretation. Many of these involve the application of statistical techniques that have been covered in GCSE Mathematics in the context of models that are specific to economics. In addition, economics students make extensive use of secondary data and there are considerable opportunities for work that explores the sampling methods involved in using large data sets.
Geography The subject criteria for
Geography require fieldwork and out of class learning. This is the subject of Controlled
Assessment, which contributes 25% overall.
There are many opportunities for the use of statistics in geography, including sampling and data collection, data display and interpretation.
Many students experience these through their fieldwork. In addition, it is common for teachers to introduce students to techniques, such as 5RGCTOCPŏUTCPMEQTTGNCVKQP, that are beyond the strict requirements of the GCSE
syllabuses.
History None. Although there is 25%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
Many aspects of history are rich in data, particularly the social and economic parts of the subject. Students need to be able to extract information from source material and at times this involves data collection, display and interpretation. The Controlled Assessment provides a particular opportunity for data rich work to be covered in class.
Home Economics
None. Although there is 60%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
The section entitled Diet and Health offers opportunities for the collection and display of data relating to healthy diets and the different dietary needs of family members.
Opportunities in the section on child
development involve the use of time series and developing an understanding of natural
variability.
ICT None. Although there is 60%
Controlled Assessment, there is no requirement for work of a statistical nature.
There are many opportunities for students to learn how to process and display data using their own methods and existing packages.
Leisure and Tourism
There is 60% Controlled Assessment in Leisure and Tourism, based upon research by the candidate. This may involve interviews, surveys, observation or questionnaires.
The subject criteria require students to carry out tasks in which they analyse issues and problems; identify, gather and record relevant information and evidence; analyse and evaluate evidence; make reasoned judgements and present conclusions.
Clearly there are opportunities for students to undertake statistical work in the course of their research. This can, for example, involve information relating to industry trends over a period of time. The data may be from a range of sources and be presented in different ways.
Students are expected to present their data appropriately in support of the analysis in their work. Such work may be practised as part of the teaching on a variety of topics ahead of the research that will actually form part of the assessment.
Media Studies
There is 60% Controlled Assessment and this may be based on research by the candidate into media products.
The research aspects of Media Studies (often into audiences and institutions) require primary and secondary research that involves collating, displaying and interpreting raw data from secondary source materials or primary research sources. There are thus significant opportunities for students learning this subject to undertake statistical work.
Physical Education
There is 60% controlled Assessment in Physical Education. In one element of this, candidates are expected to carry out research into lifestyle and into performance. This involves data collection, presentation and interpretation.
There are clear opportunities for physical education students to undertake statistical work while learning the subject. The subject criteria specify the need for them to develop their ability to analyse and evaluate
performance and to identify key priorities for improvement. They have the opportunity to measure subjects against normative statistical data, for example their health (e.g. BMI) and fitness (e.g. sit and reach tests), and analyse the results. They also have the opportunity to present their assessment evidence using (basic) statistical methods and they are encouraged to think about how their observations are measurable.
Physics Practical work is the subject of Controlled Assessment. In Physics, the work involves data collection and interpretation. It contributes 25% to the overall assessment.
Practical work in physics often gives rise to data. However, sampling is rarely involved and often there is little scope for experimental design. The variability in the data is usually due to experimental error but this still presents opportunities for statistical work; suitable techniques can be used to estimate it and to display it on diagrams. In addition, physics students have many opportunities to use the data presentation techniques they have learnt in mathematics. There is an opportunity for creative teachers to explore the similarity between the scientific methodology
underpinning practical work in physics and the statistics cycle.
In addition, physics includes work on radioactivity, and suitable simulations can provide students with first-hand experience of random processes.
Psychology The assessment is entirely by examination. Candidates are required to answer questions about planning, conducting and interpreting research in a written paper. This involves processes within the statistics cycle:
experimental design, data collection, presentation and interpretation.
Students are not required to provide evidence of having carried out any research for
themselves but those who have not done so will clearly be at a disadvantage. There are thus opportunities for psychology students to use the techniques they have learnt in
mathematics, to experience how they fit into an investigative cycle and to understand how this leads on to some important ideas that are not taught in mathematics: e.g. null and alternative hypotheses, sampling methods, types of variables, reliability, bias.
Sociology The assessment is entirely by examination. Candidates are expected to answer questions about specific examples of research which they have read before the examination. This is likely to cover sampling, data collection, presentation and interpretation.
Students are not required to provide evidence of having carried out any research themselves but clearly will be at a disadvantage if they have not done so. Much of the work in sociology involves the use of secondary data;
there is a clear need to obtain samples that are representative of the various groups involved.
There are thus many opportunities for
experimental design as well as the subsequent data presentation and interpretation.
Table 21 Opportunities for using statistics across the GCSE curriculum Notes
x A number of GCSE subjects are not included in this table. There are two reasons for these omissions.
Ō In the case of Classics, Drama, English (Language and Literature), all the Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Performing Arts and Religious Studies, there is neither a requirement for statistics to be used nor realistic opportunities for it to be used during teaching.
Ō The number of subjects available at GCSE is very large. Many of these have low