It is increasingly recognised that to be informed citizens and to participate fully in the workforce requires an understanding of statistical data and risk. Such understanding is underpinned by statistical reasoning. It has been shown, however, that students have difficulty moving from concrete representations and procedural mathematical statistics to the context-based appreciation of data drawing on proportional reasoning that is becoming increasingly necessary. Based on the Statistical Reasoning Learning Progression (SRLP), this paper examines the barriers to shifting to higher-order thinking.