Statistics for the Math-challenged?

My wife Rosie, when she takes the Excelsior College Examination "Psychology of Adulthood & Aging" on Jan. 3, will have completed all requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College, with an Area of Focus in Psychology, and Depth Areas in Education and Spanish.

But she would like to do another 9 credits and get the Major in Psychology -- first because she's interested in Psychology, and second so when she says she has a Bachelor's degree and people ask her "What in?", she'll have a simple answer.

Unfortunately, one of the remaining requirements (pages 41-42 of Excelsior's Liberal Arts catalogue http://www.excelsior.edu/pdf/Liberal_Arts_Catalog.pdf) is for 3 credits in Statistics, and Rosie is not at all strong in Math. We would like to complete all the requirements by February.

The best plan I've been able to come up with is to enroll her in Mathematics 160: "Introduction to Statistics" at Coastline Community College (Fountain Valley, CA) http://coastline.cccd.edu/WinterIntersession.asp -- and then to enroll her in the DANTES exam "Principles of Statistics" as a backup in case she fails the course.

Can anyone think of a better plan?

 

Athabasca University's Introduction to Statistics, Math 215 has an open book final exam, it's pretty easy.

 

Mark,

I don't know if this helps much, but I feel I did math a little better when it was applied to something I was interested in (I did well in college mathematics for aviation I [a precalc algebra and trig] and hope to do the same w/ college math for aviation II [an applied calculus course]). I think because I could relate a lot of the formulas to real world stuff, I was able to grasp the concept a little better. I bring this up because I have seen statistics for psychology courses (troy state is one that has it). Now, I am not sure if this may meet the stat's requirement for Excelsior, but if it does, it be a little easier.

Hope this helps,
Bill

 

Mark, I just completed Introduction to Statistics through Colorado Community College Online and received an "A". I seriously doubt your wife can be more mathematically challenged than I am!

The course is entirely online and like the other CCCO math courses, offers each student 2 chances to take each exam. While one will not get the same exact problems the second time, the problem will be the same type (i.e., use the same formula to solve it). So she can take the exam, have it computer-corrected, print it out and then go back to the problems she missed and locate the problem type in the textbook, making a note on the copy of her "dry run test". There are also lots of opportunities to earn extra credit in the course.

I think she would be able to do well in this course; if I can get a "A" it Stats, anyone can get an "A" with little effort.

Here's the link if she wishes to check it out:

www.ccconline.org



Also, all CCCO exams are unproctored, open book, and online. The Statistics tests all allowed 4 hours for completion (20 problems) so she will not feel pressured for time.

 

Most undergrad level statistics are very practically oriented courses. this makes them relatively easier to comprehend then the straight math courses.

Even at the grad level the straight statistics courses are very practicle, now the theory of statistics is anougher matter (brr - finishi9ng my last one now).

 

CarolM writes:

> Mark, I just completed Introduction to Statistics through
> Colorado Community College Online and received an "A". I
> seriously doubt your wife can be more mathematically
> challenged than I am!

This sounds promising. But at http://www.ccconline.org/registration/collegeapp.htm, it says, "Before you can register to take courses through CCCOnline, you must first choose one of our partner colleges". And at http://www.ccconline.org/registration/registrationdates.htm, it seems to say that Spring term ends on May 9 at all the colleges. Could Rosie complete the course sooner than May, and if so, how?

 

Mark, as for registering at one of the "partner" colleges, Rosie would simply select one from the list of 20 or so community and junior colleges in Colorado (I selected Community College of Denver) , follow the link and complete a short application. Takes less than 5 minutes and no transcripts are necessary unless one is applying to one of CCCO's online degree programs, which are administered by individual colleges within the group. The reason she selects a "home college" is for the purpose of maintaining her transcript -- CCCO is a consortium of partner colleges, not an adminsitraive entity of its own.

As for finishing before May, I would say the chances are slim but she could always ask. They seem to have a strict policy that work is completed according to a weekly schedule and tests and quizzes are only available during specified weeks according to the course syllabus.

Does she absolutely have to finish earlier? In my opinion, the advantages offered by this particular format (i.e., open book/unproctored tests, 2 attempts at each test, extra credit opportunities, etc) are perfect for someone who is mathematically challenged (like me!) and is worth considering.

 

Mark, will the TECEP Principles of Statistics work? It is the easiest stat. exam I know of.

 

Hello Mark,

well I have a good idea to increase math skills quickly if she doesn't mind going over a few thing you already know this is how I am going to streghten my math skills. High school and college cd sets they offer math cds at compusa and best buy and they have some at college level also but what I suggest is to get the one that start at senior at high school and when she starts aceing them move to the college level one's while your doing this also go over the clep book at the same time that way you will become stronger in all aspects of statistcs including comprehension also. Like I said I plan to do something like this also for trig and calc if I have to take them to get in my masters program. The programs are usually around 20.00 each they are in a big box with a picture of a school and people in front of them. I figure two weeks of this 2 hours a day should get her through the clep test no problem with time to spare.

Hope this helps !

 

I have seen those math CD sets at Costco in the past, but I have not heard any reviews from someone who has used them. It sounds like you "plan to," but haven't actually used them yet.
Has anyone here actually used them and has knowledge of if they are really an effective way to study?
I will need to take a couple of math exams to complete my degree, but I have forgotten 90% of what I learned in beginning and intermediate algebra classes I took over 10 years ago. I would rather not waste a year repeating beginning and intermediate algebra to get back up to speed before I prepare for the exams required for completion of Excelcior's BS/CIS or BS in Business.

 

Statistics isn't about math. It's barely about arithmetic. What it is really about is formulae, probability, logic, etc. If someone can add, subtract, multiply and divide, that person has all the math skills necessary to do statistics.

 

Rich is right. I'm no math whiz, but I found statistics to be pretty easy. It's mostly about plugging the right numbers into the right formula and solving the equation. Just because your wife has had trouble with college algebra, does not, in my mind, mean that she will have trouble with statistics.

I took a self-paced, independent studies statistics course from Bemidji State University that took me step by step through solving statistics problems. It also required open-book, proctored exams. I did not find it to be too difficult, despite my lack of aptitude for mathematics.

 

This helped me.

Mark,

Tell Rosie to check this website out. It is http://www.learner.org It is a website that is used by many community colleges for their TV, online courses and by teachers. Look for programs to view and search for statistics or math. They have free video on demand segments that she could review. I found other courses on here after taking a TV course at my local community college that helped with CLEP and DANTES. It is free and all you have to do to watch the video on demand is register with your e-mail address. Hope this helps.


Quiltlady

 

Thanks to all for your responses.

I was comparing the sample questions on the Excelsior exam:
http://www.excelsior.edu/pdf/Statistics.pdf
with those on the DANTES exam:
http://www.getcollegecredit.com/NEWFACTSHEETS/Principles%20of%20Statistics.pdf

My impression was that the DANTES exam is easier. Rosie tried all the sample questions (without preparation). She got 6 out of 25 on the Excelsior sample questions. She got 7 out of 10 on the DANTES sample questions; but when I went over them with her, she had picked several right answers for wrong reasons.

Would anyone care to offer advice based on this?

 

I have an extensive library of statistics books ranging from elementary to advanced, but my favorite is "The Cartoon Guide to Statistics" by Larry Gonick and Woolcott Smith, published by HarperPerennial. This book is very readable and funny with hundreds of ilustrations.

 

Not that I am a stats guru, but I have heard very positive comments/reviews of this book. I have considered picking it up based on comments made by several friends of mine that used it to augment their undergrad statistics class.

 

I've read it, and thought it was pretty good.

 

Hmm. Sounds promising, however there are two math requirements needed to graduate from Excelsior in the BS/CIS. I would also need one course or examination in discrete mathematics. I think the BS in Business there might have similar requirements.
What is "discrete mathematics?" Does it require algebra skills as a prerequisite and which exam can you take to fullfil this requirement?
It would save me a lot of time if I could avoid retaking or extensively reviewing algebra before moving on.

 

Depends on the level. Some statistics is very elementary, other parts less so. A lot of statistics depends on intuition, and that intuition can often mislead us. Same with probability. Probability beyond the first year course gets weird VERY quickly.

IMHO, there is one great statistics book, and it's written at a very elementary level mathematically:

Statistics, by Freedman, Pisani, & Purves

 

Tom57 writes:

> Depends on the level. Some statistics is very elementary,
> other parts less so.

Depends on the track as well as the level. The two semesters of statistics that I had to take for my CompSci Specialization at the University of Alberta were "introductory", but rigorous: we covered the derivations of the formulæ, which did involve calculus. Then there are the watered-down introductory courses (like the one Rosie will take), where you just plug numbers into the formulæ and don't have to derive them. (Rosie's difficulty with math is a difficulty with abstract, symbolic representations. I can sympathize, because my father is a much better mathematician than I am, but I'm better than Rosie.)

> A lot of statistics depends on intuition, and that intuition can
> often mislead us. Same with probability. Probability beyond the
> first year course gets weird VERY quickly.

Even elementary probability can be pretty damn counterintuitive, as the "Monty Hall" puzzle shows.
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.monty.hall.html