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Numbers tell stories — but only if you know how to read them. In the FSCE 11+ exam, you may be given tables, charts, or sets of data and asked to draw conclusions from them. This isn't just a maths skill — it's a critical thinking skill. You need to look at the data carefully and work out what it tells you AND what it doesn't tell you.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to interpret data in tables and charts, how to make correct inferences, and how to avoid common data interpretation mistakes.
Drawing conclusions from data means looking at the numbers and working out what they show. But critically, it also means recognising what the data does NOT show.
graph TD
A["Look at the data carefully"] --> B["What does the data SHOW?"]
A --> C["What does the data NOT show?"]
B --> D["Supported conclusions"]
C --> E["Things you CANNOT conclude"]
D --> F["Check: Is your conclusion justified by the numbers?"]
E --> F
F -->|Yes| G["Valid conclusion"]
F -->|No| H["Over-interpretation — be careful!"]
style G fill:#e8f5e9
style H fill:#fce4ec
When you see a data table, follow these steps:
Table: Number of books read by students in Year 6 during one term
| Student | Fiction | Non-fiction | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amira | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Ben | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Charlotte | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| David | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Eva | 10 | 2 | 12 |
What the data shows:
What the data does NOT show:
Table: Average temperature in London (°C) by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temp (°C) | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
Conclusions that CAN be drawn:
Conclusions that CANNOT be drawn:
Table: Favourite sport by gender (survey of 200 Year 6 students)
| Sport | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | 45 | 20 | 65 |
| Swimming | 15 | 30 | 45 |
| Tennis | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| Gymnastics | 5 | 25 | 30 |
| Athletics | 20 | 15 | 35 |
| Total | 95 | 105 | 200 |
Valid conclusions:
Invalid conclusions:
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