Hypothesis Tests, Made Relevant

Love them or hate them, hypothesis tests are a big part of the AP Exam and an essential concept for our students. However, they can be tricky to teach. Often, students walk away from AP Stats with canned lines ("if the p-value is low, reject the null") rather than an intuitive grasp of p-values and the conclusions we draw from them.

We've got three tips to help avoid that outcome:
1) Lay the foundation with simulation. Our inference trifecta lessons utilize simulation to introduce the intuition behind inference - without getting lost in the math.

2) Use relevant contexts. Students have a better chance at grasping hypothesis tests if they actually have a stake in the results. Again, our inference trifecta lessons incorporate compelling contexts, ranging from gerrymandering to the NBA Bubble!

3) Repeat this line: "In a world where..." In our experience, this phrase provides a concise and intuitive framing for p-values:

• In a world where 5% of all batteries from Company A are duds, what are the chances that we'd get a sample with 10% (or more) duds?

• In a world where the true average ribeye cut from Restaurant B is 10oz, what are the chances that we'd get a sample that weighed only 8oz (or less) on average?

• In a world where 10% of homes in Flint have high-lead water, what are the chances that 17% of the homes we randomly tested (or more) had high lead levels?

Let's skew it!