Mala Mahadevan explains what ANOVA is and why it’s interesting:
ANOVA – or analysis of variance, is a term given to a set of statistical models that are used to analyze differences among groups and if the differences are statistically significant to arrive at any conclusion. The models were developed by statistician and evolutionary biologist Ronald Fischer. To give a very simplistic definition – ANOVA is an extension of the two way T-Test to multiple cases.
ANOVA is an older test and a fairly simple process, but is quite useful to understand.