Grade 7 Data Handling Worksheets — Compare Two Data Sets
Seventh grade turns the mean from something you calculate into something you argue with. Comparing two data sets is the headline skill: which team is better, and does "better" mean the higher mean or the more consistent set? Those can be different teams, and a child who notices that has understood the year.
The three sub-skills here are comparing two sets, taking the mean across a survey record, and working backwards from a mean that is given to a value that is not.
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Data Handling · Grade 7
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Grade 7 · 3 pages · A4More Grade 7 data handling skills
Each one generates a different kind of question, with its own three levels and answer key.
What each level generates
Grade 7 compare two sets — the exact skill behind each difficulty setting, straight from the generator.
- Level 1Larger mean
- Level 2How far apart
- Level 3More spread out
Grade levels follow the progression common to most English-language curricula — not one specific national curriculum. Every level shows exactly what it generates, so you can check the fit with your own program. See the full scope & sequence →
Centre and spread are two different questions
Compare Two Sets asks for the larger mean at the first level, the gap between the means at the second, and which set is more spread out at the third. That progression is the point: the first two are about the centre, the third is about consistency, and they are genuinely independent.
The classic seventh-grade discussion follows straight from it — two teams with the same mean where one scores 10, 10, 10 and the other 2, 10, 18. A mean alone cannot tell them apart, which is exactly why the curriculum pairs measures of centre with measures of spread at this grade rather than at grade 6.
Working backwards is the real test
Work Back from a Mean gives the mean and all but one of the values and asks for the missing one. A child who has only learned "add them up and divide" cannot do it; it needs the relationship read the other way — the mean times the count is the total, and the total minus what is shown is what is left.
The second level frames it as a target: a stated mean is needed from five tests, four are done, what must the last score be? That version turns up in real life more often than any other mean question, and it is a good one to ask about a child's own marks.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is expected of Grade 7 data handling?
Using measures of centre and of spread to compare two sets of data and draw informal conclusions about them. These sheets cover exactly that, plus working backwards from a mean to a missing value.
▸How do you compare two data sets?
Work out a measure of centre for each — usually the mean — and then look at how spread out each set is. Two sets can share a mean and still be very different, which is why both are needed.
▸How do you find a missing value when the mean is given?
Multiply the mean by how many values there are to get the total, then subtract the values you already have. What remains is the missing one.
▸Do these sheets use box plots or scatter graphs?
No. Every question is answered from written data. Box plots and scatter graphs both need a drawn axis, which these sheets do not print.
▸Are the means always whole numbers?
Yes. The sets are constructed so both means come out exactly, which keeps a comparison question about the comparison rather than about rounding.