We live in an information society. We are confronted, in fact, inundated, with quantitative information at all levels of endeavor, Charts, graphs, figures, rates, percentages, probability, averages, forecasts, trend lines, etc., are in inescapable part of our everyday lives that affect our decisions on health, citizenship, parenthood, jobs, financial concerns and many other important matters. In order to be called for dealing with data and making intelligent decisions based on quantitative arguments. We live in a scientific age. We are confronted with arguments that demand logical, scientific reasoning even if we aren't trained scientists. We must be able to clearly see our way through a maze of reported "facts" in order to separate credible conclusions from specious ones. We must be able to intelligently weigh the evidence on the cause of cancer, the effects of pollutants on the environment, or the results of a limited nuclear war. Teachers, and then students, must be trained to make intelligent decisions based on numerical information if our society is to grow and prosper. We live amidst burgeoning technology. We are confronted with a job market that demands scientific and technological skills, and our students must be trained to deal with the tools of this technology in productive, efficient, and correct ways. Much of this new technology is concerned with information processing and dissemination and proper use of this technology requires statistical skills. These skills are in demand in engineering, business management, data management, and economic forecasting, just to name a few.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education