DSCI 310 students win "Best overall” and “Best visualization” in the ASA’s 2022 “Fall Data Challenge”

(* from This is Statistics *)

In this year’s Fall Data Challenge, After the Bell, 72 teams and 262 students submitted their data analyses on how to enhance familial involvement in the K-12 educational experience using data from the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES)’s 2019 Parents and Family Involvement (PFI) Survey.

“Our annual Fall Data Challenge continues to be an opportunity for students to demonstrate their statistical and data analysis skills and to illustrate the importance of statistics as a future career for those who wish to better the world,” says American Statistical Association (ASA) Executive Director Ron Wasserstein. “This year’s dataset highlights one of many ways in which statistics offers insights that inform and improve our lives.” 

Using this national dataset from across the United States, participants were challenged to provide insights on how to enhance and support family involvement in K -12 education. Students evaluated variables such as homework assistance, family activities, and level of parent engagement in schools.  Teams recommended that schools provide parents and guardians more frequent opportunities to participate in after-school activities, host multiple parent-teacher meetings and open houses throughout the school year, and to increase the frequency of communication between schools and parents and guardians. 

For this year’s contest, teams of two to five students submitted either a video presentation or a slide presentation of their evaluation process, analysis and recommendations. A panel of judges — American Statistical Association members with expertise in Census data, family involvement, and education, as well as National Household Education Surveys statisticians who helped collect this year’s dataset — assessed the submissions to determine the top high school and undergraduate teams for overall analysis, and honorable mentions for best data visualization and use of external data.

Congratulations to the winning teams from WSU!

Best Overall: 

Undergraduate: 

Team: R.B.P. Team
Students: Rachel Knox, Benjamin Moonen and Paige Yang
Sponsor: Silas Bergen
Institution: Winona State University, Winona, MN
View presentation here

Honorable Mention, Best Visualization: 

Undergraduate:

Team: Winona Warriors
Students: Daniel Findell, Abby Smith and Gunner McLeod
Sponsor: Silas Bergen
Institution: Winona State University, Winona, MN
View presentation here