Data Science C [TX TRIAL]

[Adi1008]

Data Science is an official state trial event in Texas for the 2019-2020 competition season focusing on computer science and statistics. You can find its rules here.

[dkarkada]

Hi everyone! I've put up my Data Science exam for UT invite here. Hope this is helpful! Let me know by email if you have any questions.

[Ashernoel]

Hi all,

I ran Data Science with adapted rules today at Harvard. The test, key, and exact rules are posted here: https://ashernoel.io/scienceolympiad.html#harvardds20.

It was a joy to write and run this event. Belmont High School got a Putnam question correct, in addition to other challenging probability questions, which was really cool to see. Naturally, they nearly doubled the second place score.

Logistically, there were few computer labs available, so we resorted to a 50-minute test. As a result, the coding questions were graded VERY subjectively. We could have created a meticulous rubric, but that would have been a larger burden than necessary for student volunteers. When I run this event again, I'll only include coding challenges if I have access to a computer lab and will use automated test-cases to grade challenges.

In our event-specific feedback form (with n=352), competitors reported that the material in the event was highly relevant to helping them prepare for a STEM-career. Data Science ranked 5th in this metric, following 1) Ping-Pong Parachute, 2) Designer Genes, 2) Anatomy, 3) Detector Building, and 4) Gravity Vehicle. According to competitors, this exam was also the 6th hardest test.

Data Science is the exact event that Science Olympiad needs to begin seriously modernizing its event slate. I hope more tournaments tournaments risk trialing it and that it becomes a Promising Pilot soon.

[LeoSekour]

Hey everyone,

I recently competed in the Tarleton Data Science event. It was a great experience but I have some criticisms and some tips to put forward. First off Data Science is really what SciOly needs to modernize itself and bring kids to be interested in computer science as a whole. one problem I found was that the event I participated in was not very well documented. People like Dhruva Karkada have posted their tests and answer keys but it really is subjective to the proctor and how advanced they think the event should be. In my case, I personally thought the event was painfully easy, the coding challenges were obvious (find the mean, median, min, max) and the written portion was only 4 questions. I placed 2nd so I can't complain too much but I do believe for the future success of people entering this event it should be standardized and documented a bit more.

For anyone going into the event, I suggest that you shape up on your basic understandings of python like stated in the rules. As I left I was clearly able to see the struggle in the teams that just didn't know python basics (the resources like leetcode are great for preparing for this). I was expecting statistics in my event but found none, instead, we encountered some machine learning theory questions which I thought was great. Needless to say, you still should your knowledge of statistical probabilities up to speed because if you will be given an advanced test it should surely be on there. I've made a GitHub repository where I've stored the Tarleton coding test (i was able to remember it) and will soon upload a copy of the written test you can find it at my Github.

Like I stated before, just as other people have on this thread have, Data Science has a lot of potential and its one of the events that will bring SciOly forward to be relevant to people interested in technology.

[Galahad]

Hi all,

I ran Data Science with adapted rules today at Harvard. The test, key, and exact rules are posted here: https://ashernoel.io/scienceolympiad.html#harvardds20.

It was a joy to write and run this event. Belmont High School got a Putnam question correct, in addition to other challenging probability questions, which was really cool to see. Naturally, they nearly doubled the second place score.

Logistically, there were few computer labs available, so we resorted to a 50-minute test. As a result, the coding questions were graded VERY subjectively. We could have created a meticulous rubric, but that would have been a larger burden than necessary for student volunteers. When I run this event again, I'll only include coding challenges if I have access to a computer lab and will use automated test-cases to grade challenges.

In our event-specific feedback form (with n=352), competitors reported that the material in the event was highly relevant to helping them prepare for a STEM-career. Data Science ranked 5th in this metric, following 1) Ping-Pong Parachute, 2) Designer Genes, 2) Anatomy, 3) Detector Building, and 4) Gravity Vehicle. According to competitors, this exam was also the 6th hardest test.

Data Science is the exact event that Science Olympiad needs to begin seriously modernizing its event slate. I hope more tournaments tournaments risk trialing it and that it becomes a Promising Pilot soon.

Surprised that Ping-Pong Parachute was #1... that's quite interesting. I could see Gravity Vehicle, but wow..