Guest Post: Eggs Don’t Grow on Trees and Neither Does Data: How to Teach K-12 Students Where Data Comes From
Second in a series of posts about federal data and the Federal Statistical System.
Today, we have the second post in the series from Claire McKay Bowen and Aaron R. Williams. To raise awareness, they are launching a series of blog posts and other outreach materials to help diverse audiences understand and support the federal statistical system. Everyone living in the United States is part of this vast statistical ecosystem and benefits from it—both directly and indirectly. Their first blog post highlighted examples ranging from reducing lead exposure in consumer products to improving agricultural productivity. This post focuses on tools for educators teaching students about the importance of federal data.
When we take a bite of cake, we often focus on its presentation, decoration, texture, or flavor. Rarely do we think about the ingredients or the effort that went into making it.
The same is true for the statistics and tools we use every day to improve our lives. For example, many of us start our day by checking the weather from a local news station, which uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We often check Google Maps to navigate unfamiliar cities, check traffic conditions, or locate nearby services. But few realize that Google Maps uses TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) data from the U.S. Census Bureau along with other data sources.
Despite the importance of such data, they are at risk due to proposed budget cuts and past low budgets and staffing levels. After all, maintenance isn't glamorous and it rarely gets the attention it deserves.
This piece focuses on providing tools and resources to help K–12 educators teach students about the origins and importance of data; especially U.S. federal data. Introducing government data in the classroom is foundational to developing data literacy, critical thinking, and statistics skills. These competencies are essential in navigating a noisy world dominated by artificial intelligence and misinformation, while also preparing a 21stcentury workforce to compete on the global stage.
Teaching Students that Eggs Come from Chickens
One reason so many people are unaware of the federal statistical system is that it’s rarely taught in schools. Students often learn what data are, how to analyze or visualize them, and how to interpret results. But they are seldom taught how data are collected, who collects them, and how they’re shared and used; even in higher education. This lack of knowledge leads many (e.g., students, researchers, analysts) to believe that collecting and obtaining data is easy and naturally comes in a clean form with no errors, missing values, or other issues. In reality, data collection and preparation take up the vast majority of time for any data scientist, computer scientist, or other roles that work on analyzing data to gain insight.
The following are free, easy to follow resources that are designed to support teachers, who are often overworked and under-resourced, in helping students understand how data shape our communities and our nation.
Statistics in Schools from the U.S. Census Bureau: The Statistics in Schools offers materials for pre-K through 12th grade. These resources are tailored for subjects like social studies, math, English, geography, and sociology. On the separate pre-K page, there is a bilingual pre-K storybook titled Everyone Counts available in English and Spanish.
K–12 Educators from the American Statistical Association (ASA): ASA’s K–12 Educators Resource Page includes classroom-ready materials, education research publications, teaching guidelines, professional development materials and opportunities for teachers, and student competitions. ASA also has a general resources website for educators.
What’s Going On in This Graph? – ASA & New York Times Learning Network: What’s Going on in This Graph? is a free weekly feature designed for grades 7–12+ that encourages students to explore a variety of data visualizations using four prompts:
- What do you notice?
- What do you wonder?
- How does this relate to you and your community?
- Create a catchy headline that captures the graph’s main idea.
Answering these prompts fosters curiosity and critical thinking across subjects like math, science, English, and social studies. The series runs each school year from fall to spring.
Data4Kids – Data Story Toolkit: Data4Kids from the Urban Institute offers a ready-to-use toolkit with instructor guides, datasets, and slide decks. Like the graph series, it uses the “notice and wonder” framework. Activities are tailored by grade level (from third grade to high school seniors) and cover topics such as health equity, food insecurity, and national parks.
Data matters more when we know the roots
When we help students understand where data come from and why they matter, we build a more informed and engaged public; and a modern, competitive workforce. In doing so, we hope students will recognize the value of the federal statistical system and the role it plays in improving our lives; or at least know that eggs comes from chickens, not trees. 🐣
