From Research to Practice: Basic Mathematics Skills and Success in Introductory Statistics

Based on previous research of Johnson and Kuennen (2006), we conducted a study to determine factors that would possibly predict student success in an introductory statistics course. Our results were similar to Johnson and Kuennen in that we found students' basic mathematical skills, as measured on a test created by Johnson and Kuennen, were a significant predictor of student success in the course. We also found a significant professor effect. These results have prompted us to evaluate and modify the teaching of our introductory statistics course.