Data Visualization Poster & Statistics Project Competition Winners

POSTER WINNERS GRADES K–3

First Place

Herui Wang
“First Grade Observations on Daylight Saving Time”
Mansfield Elementary School
Mansfield Center, Connecticut

Second Place

Rebekah Yung
“Are Kinders at My School Healthy?”
Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton
Newark, California

Third Place

Dr. Petrick’s Third Grade Class
“What Do 3rd Graders Think About Video Games vs. Board Games?”
Timmons Elementary
Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Honorable Mention

Mihin Witharana
“To Cross or Not to Cross the Road: How Kids Feel About Illegal School Bus Passings”
Mansfield Elementary School
Mansfield Center, Connecticut

Honorable Mention

Adalyn Michels
“What Do People in Our Class Think About Reading and Writing?”
Explorer Elementary
Caledonia, Michigan

POSTER WINNERS GRADES 4–6

First Place

Journey Rodriguez
“Beyond Pink and Blue: Exploring Gender Differences in Emotions”
Chaparral Elementary School
Claremont, California

Second Place

Elvis Wu, Ethan Ou, Jayson Wang, and Brady Huang
“Elementary Kids Sports Behavior”
Luxmanor Elemenary School, Diamond Elementary School, and Stone Mill Elementary School
Rockville, Maryland

Third Place

Cleo Marinescu
“The Instruments We Play”
Sequoyah School
Pasadena, California

Honorable Mention

Roger Wang
“Favorite Items Really Expensive”
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

Honorable Mention

Aydin M. Soner and Arslan N. Soner
“Homegrown Education: A Statistical Perspective on Homeschooling Trends and Outcomes”
Homeschool
Columbia, South Carolina

POSTER WINNERS GRADES 7–9

First Place

Sameera Rampertab
“The Effects of COVID-19 Are Sex-Dependent”
Sacred Heart Academy
Valley Stream, New York

Second Place

Paavani Tewari
“Inflations, Hyperinflations, and Perceptions”
Huron High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Third Place

Samarth Gioia and Justin Chen
“Environmental Impacts to Populations Living Near Large and Medium Capacity Refineries”
Woodland School and Newhart Middle School
Belmont, California

Honorable Mention

Cole Nowacki
“Evidence for ‘Home Field Advantage’ in Football”
Kirtland Middle School
Kirtland, Ohio

Honorable Mention

Evan Lac, Ryan Vu, and Ethan Park
“How Likely Are You to Get Cancer?”
Hyde Park Middle School
Las Vegas, Nevada

POSTER WINNERS GRADES 10–12

First Place

Maureen Min
“ChatGPT Use in K–12 Education in Texas”
The Kinkaid School
Houston, Texas

Second Place

Matthew Xie
“Risk Prediction of Asthma Development in Youth Using Statistical Learning Models”
Pittsford Sutherland High School
Pittsford, New York

Third Place (tie)

Ella Babigian and Julia Xia
“Salaries in Data Science”
Miss Porter’s School
Farmington, Connecticut

Third Place (tie)

Brenna Li and Hanson Miao
“Do Life Habits and Parent–Child Connectedness Influence Mental Health of Asian American Adolescents?”
Dublin Jerome High School
Dublin, Ohio

Honorable Mention

Jason L. Ma and Elaina Li
“Homelessness Rate in California Visualized by Demographics and County Before and After the Pandemic”
San Mateo High School and Campolindo High School
Moraga, California

2024 National Project Competition Winners

Each year, the statistical project competition attracts a variety of submissions from students in grades 7–12 who conduct a creative study and write a report. The submission deadline for the project competition is June 1 to enable participation from high school students who might have been preparing for the AP Statistics exam administered in mid-May. The statistical project competition provides students with opportunities to apply the statistical skills they gain throughout the school year to solve real-world problems of interest to them.

First Place

Mu’aaz Shaikh and Srikar Thippavajjula
Mangoes: Ripe for Analysis
California High School
San Ramon, California
Judges’ Comments: This is a unique and fun topic. The project presents a well-structured chi-square test for homogeneity that examined different stages of mango ripeness across three distinct environments. The judges were pleased with the detail given in explaining the data collection and the thoroughness of the analysis; however, the judges would have liked for a practical conclusion to be given in addition to the statistical conclusion. The project included clear and appropriate tables and graphs that supplemented the overall analysis nicely. A strong reflection provides thoughtful ideas for future research.

Second Place

Anna Cao and Allison Ma
Are Yolk Kidding Me?
Canyon Crest Academy
San Diego, California
Judges’ Comments: This matched pairs–designed project addresses separating egg whites from the yolk by using either an egg separator or the eggshells. Judges were impressed with this project, commenting that it was well conceived and executed. Visuals documenting the data-collection process were particularly helpful and appropriate in the overall presentation. The judges felt the discussion of controlling for confounding variables was clear and thoughtful. In addition, they suggest moving the confidence interval presentation to the analysis section as a follow up to the hypothesis test conclusion to reiterate the findings. A point of concern for judges was the misunderstanding of checking the normality condition based on the two samples, rather than the distribution of differences. Overall, the judges expressed strong support for this project.

Third Place

Dylan Wong and Samuel Fan
Does the Duration of Time Cookie Dough Sits Affect How Much the Cookie Spreads?
Valley Christian High School
San Jose, California
Judges’ Comments: This project investigates the extent to which a cookie’s spreading is affected by the duration the dough rests before baking, utilizing ANOVA analysis. The project is designed well and organized; the data were analyzed in a thoughtful and appropriate way. Judges were impressed by the thoroughness of the statistical analysis and the effective application of ANOVA. The inclusion of post-hoc tests was also a commendable aspect of the project. A point of concern was stating the condition for homogeneity of variances but not explicitly demonstrating the condition was met. Additionally, judges would have liked to see graphical representation to accompany the analysis, and they noted the reflection component could be strengthened. While some errors were identified in the more advanced statistical analyses, the judges recognized the effort to explore concepts beyond the scope of AP Statistics.

Honorable Mention

Seohyun Kim, Brianna Petty, Angela Chan, and Laya Babu
Organic or Non-Organic Fuji Apples
Canyon Crest Academy
San Diego, California
Judges’ Comments: This paper explores an engaging topic concerning the weight of organic and non-organic apples, with a focus on Fuji apples. Judges admired the topic of this project, and they thought the research was nicely constructed. While the sampling method was well thought out, the complexity of obtaining the sample seemed to give the authors trouble. The judges raised concerns about the weighing methodology, emphasizing the importance of using the same scale for all apples to ensure consistency. While the inference conditions were verified twice, a single verification would have sufficed, as the same conditions are required for both the hypothesis test and the confidence interval. While the descriptive comparison of the data/plots was nice, including numeric evidence in the written comparison of the graphs would be helpful. This paper ends with a strong conclusion and reflection, providing a solid finishing touch to the presentation.