CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.B.4
The Standard
Use data from a sample survey to estimate a population mean or proportion; develop a margin of error through the use of simulation models for random sampling.
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use results from a random sample to estimate an average or percentage for a larger group. They simulate many random samples and use the spread of estimates to give a reasonable margin of error.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can calculate a sample mean or proportion and use it as a population estimate. They can use simulated sample results to report and explain a margin of error.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat a sample estimate as the exact population value. They may think margin of error measures mistakes rather than natural sample variation. They may also ignore bias from convenience samples.
How to Assess It
- Give this exit ticket: A survey of 100 students finds 62% support a policy, and simulations give a 95% range from 53% to 71%. State the estimate and margin of error.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups a jar of colored beads to sample, estimate the color proportion, repeat ten times, and graph their estimates.
Ask students which of two surveys is more convincing when both report 60%, but one samples 25 people and the other samples 400.
Have pairs draw repeated card samples, calculate each sample mean, and compete to produce the narrowest interval containing most estimates.
Use a school lunch survey to estimate student preferences, then discuss how sampling only one lunch period could bias the result.
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Printable HSS-IC.B.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.B.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
- CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-IC.A.1
Estimating population means or proportions with margins of error requires understanding random samples as evidence about population parameters.
- CCSS.Math.Content.7.SP.A.1
Estimating population values and margins of error requires understanding random samples as representative evidence for valid population inferences.
- CCSS.Math.Content.7.SP.A.2
Students extend random-sample inference and sampling variability into estimating means or proportions with simulation-based margins of error.
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