Mark Twain once quoted a statesman as saying “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” The supposed source of this quote seems to be pretty ironic, given how little the American public now trusts its congressmen. Nowadays, statistics seem to be the popular fare of any article or advertisement online — whether it’s about vaccines causing autism, how much of our brains we actually use in day-to-day life or how many dentists recommend our brands of toothpaste, we can expect to see statistics in a persuasive argument. If we’re going to be surrounded by statistics daily, we should be taught how to understand them.
Advertisers and others with agendas regularly throw out statistics, even if they aren’t true. Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) once said 70 cents of every dollar spent on food stamps goes to bureaucrats, when the real figure was actually one third of one percent. Kellogg claimed in 2009 that its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved children’s attentiveness by almost 20 percent. It settled with the FTC when clinical studies came to surface showing that only one in nine kids actually had that much improvement. Thanks to watchdog groups, federal agencies and other eagle-eyed observers, false statistics don’t always slide by. However, the breadth of info on the internet and the content generated each day are such that false statistics aren’t always caught. When that happens, the regular consumer needs to know how to parse that information. They need to understand statistics.
Statistics is already required in the Common Core, an educational standard in the United States that details what K-12 students should know in the language arts and math by the end of each grade. Common grievances with the Common Core aside, its standards for what a student should know of statistics are not rigorous enough. A student under the Common Core would not have the tools necessary to question a news article on how representative a sample size is of a certain population or how to identify lurking variables that might have skewed a study. Furthermore, Virginia is one of seven states that has not adopted the Common Core, preferring instead to use the statewide Standards of Learning.
The University has a duty to ensure its students graduate with the ability to question what the media or corporations push on them. Its mission statement claims it seeks to produce “responsible citizen leaders and professionals.” In a world so inundated with information, true and false, a responsible citizen leader ought to be able to recognize the truth to best serve their interests and community.
While it does not give a purpose for them, Stanford justifies its area requirements by claiming they “develop a broad set of essential intellectual and social competencies of enduring value.” A comprehension of statistics is vital to intellectual competency in consuming news and understanding advertisements. An informed voter should understand the numbers and their verity.
The University already has area requirements. For the College, the University demands 12 credits should go to the natural sciences and mathematics. If an additional amount of credits are not added to the existing area requirements to allow a class in introductory statistics, then the 12 credits for natural sciences and mathematics should also require credits from a statistics class.
The University claims to be one of the top public institutions in the nation. To adequately prepare its students for the world, it should give them the tools to distinguish the truth from “lies, damned lies and statistics.” The University should use its status to lead by example among other institutions and promote statistical comprehension in students.
Tsering Say is a Viewpoint writer.
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