Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.
Official wording from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (Β© 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers). View on thecorestandards.org
Statistics begins with a question, but not every question is statistical. 'How old am I?' has one answer, so collecting data cannot add anything. 'How old are the students in my school?' expects many different answers, and dealing with that spread of answers is exactly what statistics is for. A statistical question anticipates variability in the data and its answer accounts for that variability, often with a typical value and a sense of how much the values differ.
Sixth graders learn to sort questions into statistical and non-statistical and to rewrite non-statistical questions so they become statistical. 'How many pets does Jordan have?' becomes 'How many pets do students in our class have?' The skill sounds small, but it shapes everything else in the 6.SP domain. A well-posed question tells you what data to collect, from whom, and with what units, and it sets up the distributions, measures of center and measures of spread that follow.
'How tall is the school flagpole?' has a numerical answer but only one value. It is not statistical.
'How long does it take me to walk to school each day this month?' is statistical because the times vary from day to day, even though only one person is measured.
'Does Maria like soccer?' is not statistical, but 'What sports do students in our grade like?' is.
Which of these are statistical? (a) How many minutes did I spend reading last night? (b) How many minutes do sixth graders at our school read each night? (c) How many days are in March?
Answer: Only (b) is statistical. (c) has the single answer 31, and (a) becomes statistical if asked over many nights.
A quick sort activity with question cards, followed by students writing their own questions about the class, works well. Push students to name the variability they expect in each statistical question.
On assessments students usually pick the statistical question from a list or explain why a given question is or is not statistical. Being able to say 'the answers would vary because...' is the key phrase.
Original questions written for this standard. Choose an option or type your answer, then press Check. Every question has a worked explanation.
Answer: B) How many hours of sleep do students in my class get on school nights?
Sleep times will vary from student to student, so the question anticipates variability.
Answer: C) It has only one answer
Ben has one specific number of siblings, so there is no variability in the data.
Answer: D) What were the scores of students in my class on today's quiz?
Asking about the scores of many students introduces variability.
Answer: yes (also accepted: y)
Yes. Travel times change from day to day, so the data will vary even though only one person is measured.
Answer: B) Not statistical, because it has one answer at a given time
The population at a given time is a single number, so there is no variability to describe.
A full lesson with slides, activities and an exit ticket on statistical questions, pitched to grade 6 and editable in PowerPoint or Google Slides.
Make a lesson βA printable, differentiated worksheet on 6.SP.A.1 with an answer key, ready in about a minute.
Make a worksheet βTurn statistical questions into a quiz students answer online that marks itself, with a class summary for you.
Build a test βIt anticipates variability in the data. If you expect different answers when collecting data, and the answer must describe that spread, the question is statistical.
Yes, if it involves repeated measurements that vary, such as 'How many minutes do I practice piano each day?'