Distinguish statistical questions, which anticipate variability in the data, from questions with a single fixed answer, and describe a data set's context.
A statistical question expects VARIABILITY - different answers from different people or at different times. "How tall am I?" has one fixed answer, but "how tall are the students in my class?" is statistical, because the heights will vary.
To recognize a statistical question, ask: "will collecting this data from different people or times give different answers?" If yes, it is statistical.
Good statistical questions also come with context - who or what was measured, how, and why - and that context helps you make sense of the data later.
Mastery looks like: They correctly sort questions into statistical versus fixed-answer, and can rewrite a fixed-answer question as a statistical one.
Common stumbles: Calling any question with a number in the answer "statistical," even when it has one true fixed answer; forgetting that variability across a group or time is the key test.