Nicolas Simonetti is a high school math teacher at The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has been teaching AP Statistics since 2013 and has been an AP Reader since 2019. At the AP Reading, he serves the role of Father Acorn – helping mentor the new AP Readers (acorns)! Nick also works with the Math Medic team as a content writer and coder and was part of the AP Statistics “Dream Team” where he helped write questions for the Math Medic Assessment Platform.
I first learned about Stats Medic (now Math Medic for AP Stats) and the EFFL approach to teaching at the 2019 AP Statistics reading when Luke presented at Best Practices Night, and since then I have been a full-time ALL-IN user. Last year I learned about the 4C Method for Inference, and immediately went ALL- IN full implementation for all my inference procedures. The results in my classroom have been remarkable.
In short, the key principles of this approach are:
CHOOSE: Choose the inference procedure and set it up.
CHECK: Check the appropriate conditions.
CALCULATE: Perform the calculations.
CONCLUDE: Interpret results in the context of the problem.
My journey to the 4C Method
When I first started teaching AP Stats, I found that my students often struggled with the inference free response question on the exam. They had trouble choosing the correct procedure, would get bogged down in the technical details, and had a hard time applying the concepts to real-world scenarios. Over the years, I had tried a variety of frameworks and methods, but nothing really seemed to click. I already knew I wanted to shake up how I taught inference and then the 4C method was shared in the Stats Medic community. What I liked the most about this approach right away was having the students identify the inference procedure first. In addition, I loved the simplistic nature and consistent structure for ALL inference procedures – sometimes less is more and this turned out to be the case for my students. I made the decision and went ALL IN for the 2023-2024 school year and tried it against the AP Exam.
The results of the 4C Method
In 2023 before implementing the 4C Method, the average score on the inference question for my AP Stats students was a 1.9 out of 4. After implementing the 4C Method in 2024, the average score on the inference question for my students jumped to 3.2 out of 4 - a (statistically) significant improvement! My students were not only able to correctly perform the calculations, but they could also explain their reasoning and apply the concepts to real-world problems.
Why I believe the 4C Method Works
There are several key reasons why the 4C Method has been so successful in helping my students excel on the inference question of the AP exam:
Choose: The first step in the 4C Method is to have students carefully choose the appropriate inference procedure for a given problem. This requires them to deeply understand the different types of inference and the assumptions and conditions that must be met for each. By focusing on this "choosing" step first, students develop a stronger conceptual grasp of what needs to be accomplished. They learn to analyze the problem context - the research question, the variables involved, the data structure - and select the right statistical procedure accordingly. This prevents them from blindly memorizing formulas and procedures and one of the big reasons "Name That Significance Test" is such an impactful AP Exam review activity.
Check: Once students have identified the appropriate inference method, the next step is to have them carefully check that the necessary assumptions are satisfied. Emphasizing this "checking" step encourages students to think critically about the validity of their analysis. They learn to consider the real-world meaning and limitations of their statistical inferences, rather than just plugging numbers into a formula.
Calculate: After choosing the right procedure and verifying the assumptions, students then perform the actual calculations to obtain their test statistic and p-value. This "calculating" step reinforces their mastery of the technical aspects of inference, ensuring they can accurately execute the required mathematical operations. Providing ample practice with calculating test statistics, confidence intervals, and other inference quantities prepares students for the quantitative demands of the AP Statistics exam.
Conclude: The final step is the "concluding" phase, where students interpret their results in the context of the original problem and communicate their statistical findings. By explicitly focusing on this concluding step, the 4C Method helps students develop their ability to reason statistically and explain their work. This is a crucial skill not just for the AP exam, but for their future studies and careers.
The key strength of the 4C Method is that it guides students through the complete inference process, from identifying the appropriate technique to drawing meaningful conclusions. This holistic approach leads to deeper understanding and from my experience better performance on the AP Statistics exam. Another reason why I believe the 4C method was a big success for my students was due to the consistent structure. The 4C Method works with confidence intervals and significance tests and students not only remember everything that is required in the solution, but they also understand why.
Conclusion
If you're an AP Statistics teacher struggling to help your students excel on the inference section of the exam, I highly recommend giving the 4C Method a try. As a full-time user of Stats Medic since 2019 and an experienced AP Statistics teacher and reader, I can attest to the power of this approach.
By focusing on choosing the right procedure, checking assumptions, calculating correctly, and concluding with sound reasoning, you can empower your students to not only master the technical aspects of inference, but to truly become confident and capable statistical
thinkers.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like more information on implementing the 4C Method in your classroom. I'm always happy to share resources and support fellow AP Stats teachers in their pursuit of student learning. Please feel free to email me at Nicolas.simonetti21@gmail.com