Mount Spotlight: AP Statistics with Malgorzata Milej

In Malgorzata Milej’s Advanced Placement Statistics course, students have been cultivating their understanding of statistics using technology, investigations, problem-solving, and writing.

“They explore concepts like variation and distribution, patterns and uncertainty, and data-based predictions, decisions, and conclusions,” explained Ms. Milej. “Students are collecting, analyzing and drawing conclusions from data.”

While they are some of the most challenging and rigorous parts of the course, topics like regression, normal distributions, and sampling distributions are quite relatable to students and their lives outside of school, according to Ms. Milej.

“One of the projects we did in class was based off regression analysis,” she said. “Students were given the opportunity to examine a relationship between two variables of choice. One of the sample choices was ‘Is there a relationship between the number of books read and SAT verbal score?’ Students then had to report their findings using their data and visuals, as well as make predictions using their model.”

“This activity opened the door for students to think of actual real-world applications that can be studied using regression, such as medical researchers studying the correlation between drug dosage and blood pressure of patients,” shared Ms. Milej.

Throughout a typical week of AP Statistics, students will practice problems representing face-paced lectures in the classrooms, and they will complete sample AP problems from previous examination years.

“AP Statistics prepares students for a one-semester, non-calculus-based introductory college statistics course,” explained Ms. Milej. “Common careers that AP Statistics students take into consideration include advertising and marketing, business analytics, financial analysts, actuarial sciences, and data analysts.”

“AP Statistics is one of the most useful and applicable classes I have taken at the Mount,” said Kelsie Neidenbach '23. “Learning to interpret data is an invaluable skill that enhances your view of the world, especially in the media-driven society we live in. AP Stats also heavily focuses on analytical and critical thinking, which is something that can be applied to almost every career.”

Charlotte Gray '23 added, “AP Statistics challenges me to examine the world through a more analytical lens. We are encouraged to focus specifically on research and to apply our statistical knowledge to real-world problems to find appropriate solutions.”

“I would recommend this class to future Mount students because it’s an engaging and challenging course and has some really cool aspects to it,” reflected Reilly Melvin '22. “I think it will definitely help me both in college and later in life since we are using and analyzing statistics that wouldn’t be out of place in the world after school.”

 

“This class, although difficult at times, is one of the most important classes I have taken in high school,” added Arianna Salerno '22. “The content material is certainly challenging, but it is so rewarding to be able to comprehend and analyze data in a way that will be useful in the future. Although I plan to major in a pre-law track in college, this class is helping me prepare for college work and beyond. I am able to navigate my TI-84 calculator with ease; this skill is imperative for many future endeavors.”

 

“Ms. Milej is an excellent teacher,” added Arianna. “She takes each lesson step by step and never fails to go in-depth into the material. We have already begun preparation for the AP Exam in May. I am confident that with Ms. Milej’s teaching, my class and I will succeed.”