CONCLUSION
The following conclusions can be drawn (keeping in mind that they are based on the sample
of about 600 students selected for this study): (1) Outcome approach, chance cannot be measured
mathematically, compound approach and equiprobability are four main misconceptions of
probability in Chinese students independent of school streams or background in probability; (2)
Students’ understanding of probability does not improve naturally with age - teaching plays an
important role; (3) A short teaching intervention can help ordinary grade 8 students overcome some
misconceptions and improve their understanding of frequentist definition of probability; (4)
Introducing probability in the frequentist approach or in the classical approach cannot replace each
other; each has its role in helping students’ understand probability; and (5) The specific context and
data involved in an item plays a role in eliciting some misconceptions. Given the limited length of
this report detailed results can be found in Li (2000)