National champions found in International Statistical Literacy Competition

School students in Finland have been competing in their statistical skills in the International Statistical Literacy Competition held for the first time this year. The aim of the competition is to improve the abilities of 10 to 18-year-old students in describing their environment with the help of statistics and in using statistics as a tool for making sense of their daily life.

The competition has four categories, two for comprehensive schools and two for upper secondary schools. Thirteen schools and 165 students participated in the national qualifying rounds of the competition in Finland. Twenty students made it to the national final that was held in Finland in March. The champions demonstrating the best statistical literacy skills in the national final were:

Miina Virtanen, 6th grade, comprehensive school category, Helsinki
Kaisa-Mari Vuoti, 8th-9th grade, comprehensive school category, Kempele
Elmo Pikkupeura, 1st grade, upper secondary school category, Kerava
Justus Mutanen, 2nd-3rd grade, upper secondary school category, Rovaniemi.

These national champions have the opportunity to travel to the international final which will be held in connection with the session of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) in Durban, South Africa, on 20 August 2009.

The competition is organised by the International Association of Statistical Education (IASE), which promotes the teaching of statistics and statistical literacy, and operates under the auspices of the ISI. Educational institutes from more than 20 countries participate in the competition. The national competition in Finland was organised by Statistics Finland and MAOL, the Finish Association of Teachers of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Informatics.

Further information from: Reija Helenius, Head of Development, +358 9 1734 3677 or Minna Korhonen, Planner, +358 9 1734 2627