Authentic Assessment in Algebra NCCTM 2009 Big League Decisions Brian Smith Wake Forest University
[email protected] Introduction: Using statistical data to make decisions is a common and well-known everyday use of mathematics. Companies and corporations rely heavily on bright mathematical minds to make key choices using their skills in statistics. Major League Baseball is one business in which this type of analysis occurs every day, most specifically in the acquisitions of players. This project uses statistics from different players found in a baseball almanac to try and find a particular statistic that best predicts a player’s future success. In this case, at-bats define future success and batting average, hits, homeruns, on-base percentage and slugging percentage will be tested for their ability to predict success. Batting average represent the percent of a player’s at- bat where the player records a hit, on-base percentage is the percent of a player’s at-bat where the player reaches base, and slugging percentage is a weighted batting average, in which extra- base hits take on additional value. NCTM Standards: Algebra, Data Analysis & Probability, Communication, Connections, Representation, Problem Solving NCSCOS Objectives: Algebra II 2.04 Create and use best-fit mathematical models of linear, exponential, and quadratic functions to solve problems involving sets of data. a. Interpret the constants, coefficients, and bases in the context of the data. b. Check the model for goodness-of-fit and use the model, where appropriate, to draw conclusions or make predictions. Goals: Students will collect data from the internet and organize it in tables.