Abstract

In today's data-driven world, the field of data science is becoming increasingly important. Research has shown that more job listings in Utah require applicants to have data science skills than ever before. Due to this growing demand, there is a push to begin data science instruction in grades K-12; however, what data science instruction is in grades K-12 is not yet clearly defined. Previous research has identified the skills and processes that make up data science in grades K-12, and several states and research groups have begun developing and implementing data science standards and learning progressions. This study analyzes the 2025 draft Utah Core Standards for Mathematics to determine the skills and processes Utah uses to define data science for grades K-12. The analysis of the 2025 K-12 draft data science standards found one critical process--Processing Data--missing from the standards across all grade levels. This study also identified iterative revision and proposing action skills are also missing from the standards. These results suggest that Utah defines data science as prior statistical processes. Additionally, this study identifies features (e.g., large grain size) of the K-12 draft data science standards that contribute to difficulty in interpreting their meaning. The lack of processing data processes, iterative revision, and proposing action skills in the draft data science standards implies that K-12 students are missing opportunities to learn the essential skills they need to engage with real-world data. The identified features of the standards have implications on their implementation, as the lack of clarity may cause teachers to unintentionally miss teaching important concepts and skills throughout the school year. The results of this study have implications for the standard writing committee selection, as experts in content knowledge and curriculum writing are critical for writing coherent and cohesive standards documents.

Degree

College and Department

Computational, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences; Mathematics Education

Rights

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