The Royal Statistical Society welcomes a new project developing framework for a data science qualification at senior secondary school and introductory university level.
The International Data Science in Schools Project (IDSSP) Curriculum Framework has brought together international communities - from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK - in statistics and computer science, to develop an ambitious framework for the standalone qualification in data science.
The framework informs the development of a coherent and challenging qualification, including a sophisticated understanding of statistics, for those studying at senior secondary and introductory university level.
The RSS has been involved in this project in various ways; former RSS President Sir David Spiegelhalter, is on the IDSSP Advisory Group, while Neil Sheldon - a former RSS vice president and current member of our Education Policy Advisory Group - is a member of the IDSSP curriculum team.
'We would like to thank the IDSSP advisory and curriculum teams for all their work in developing the curriculum frameworks, which provides an impressively detailed proposal for a qualification in data science,' says Sharon Witherspoon, current RSS vice president for education and statistical literacy. 'As well as data science, we believe the Framework has elements that can also help build data skills in other subjects, from the natural and physical sciences to the social sciences.
'We look forward to further discussions with the IDSSP to help achieve the support needed to turn the curriculum framework into high-quality curriculum materials, assessment measures, and teacher training support.'
Read the IDSSP Curriculum Framework (PDF).