Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Education
Numeracy Tasks: Inspiring Transfer Between Concrete And Abstract Thinking Spaces, Taras Gula, Miroslav Lovric
Numeracy Tasks: Inspiring Transfer Between Concrete And Abstract Thinking Spaces, Taras Gula, Miroslav Lovric
Numeracy
In our paper we build a case for conceptualizing numeracy tasks as distinct from mathematical tasks (or at least as a special type of mathematical task), and for abstraction and interpretation as a set of key activities necessary for designating a numeracy task as being high-quality. We start with an attempt to tame the fuzziness of numeracy and its family members (including quantitative reasoning, quantitative literacy, mathematical literacy, and the word problem cousins) by outlining six areas of consensus gleaned from literature. These provide the foundation for a core mandate of numeracy. We then build our case for the distinctness …
Measuring Numeracy: Validity And The Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (Piaac), Samuel L. Tunstall
Measuring Numeracy: Validity And The Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (Piaac), Samuel L. Tunstall
Numeracy
A tension raised in recent scholarship is that between numeracy as a social practice and numeracy as a functional skill set. Such frameworks for conceptualizing numeracy pose a challenge to assessment because what individuals do with numeracy is not the same as what individuals can do (or express) in an assessment setting. This study builds on work related to numeracy assessment through a validity examination of a portion of a well-known assessment: the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). In following a path set out by standards for assessment, I ask: What does the PIAAC numeracy …
Alignment Between Learning Objectives And Assessments In A Quantitative Literacy Course, Younggon Bae, Samuel L. Tunstall, Kathryn S. Knowles, Rebecca L. Matz
Alignment Between Learning Objectives And Assessments In A Quantitative Literacy Course, Younggon Bae, Samuel L. Tunstall, Kathryn S. Knowles, Rebecca L. Matz
Numeracy
In this analysis, we examine how course assessment items were aligned with learning objectives in a quantitative literacy course at Michigan State University. The alignment analysis consisted of mapping assessment items to a list of operationalized learning objectives from the course. Our analysis shows how often the learning objectives are represented in assessment items, how often they are paired with other learning objectives, and how influential they are in contributing to a student’s course grade. In addition, through comparisons across four assessment types (e.g., exams and homework), we show how each learning objective was assessed differently within each assessment type. …
Preliminary Evaluation Of The Psychometric Quality Of HeightenTm Quantitative Literacy, Katrina C. Roohr, Hyesun Lee, Jun Xu, Ou Lydia Liu, Zhen Wang
Preliminary Evaluation Of The Psychometric Quality Of HeightenTm Quantitative Literacy, Katrina C. Roohr, Hyesun Lee, Jun Xu, Ou Lydia Liu, Zhen Wang
Numeracy
Quantitative literacy has been identified as an important student learning outcome (SLO) by both the higher education and workforce communities. This paper aims to provide preliminary evidence of the psychometric quality of the pilot forms for HEIghten quantitative literacy, a next-generation SLO assessment for students in higher education. We evaluated the psychometric quality of the test items (e.g., item analyses), individual- and group-level reliability, the relationship with student performance and related variables (e.g., grade point average) as well as student perceptions, and differences across college-related and demographic subgroups. Our study used data from a pilot test administered to over 1,500 …
The Quantitative Reasoning For College Science (Quarcs) Assessment, 1: Development And Validation, Katherine B. Follette, Donald W. Mccarthy, Erin Dokter, Sanlyn Buxner, Edward Prather
The Quantitative Reasoning For College Science (Quarcs) Assessment, 1: Development And Validation, Katherine B. Follette, Donald W. Mccarthy, Erin Dokter, Sanlyn Buxner, Edward Prather
Numeracy
Science is an inherently quantitative endeavor, and general education science courses are taken by a majority of college students. As such, they are a powerful venue for advancing students’ skills and attitudes toward mathematics. This article reports on the development and validation of the Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment, a numeracy assessment instrument designed for college-level general education science students. It has been administered to more than four thousand students over eight semesters of refinement. We show that the QuaRCS is able to distinguish varying levels of quantitative literacy and present performance statistics for both individual items and …
Assessing Numeracy In The Upper Elementary And Middle School Years, Carol Ann Gittens
Assessing Numeracy In The Upper Elementary And Middle School Years, Carol Ann Gittens
Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability or tendency to reason critically about quantitative information. The preponderance of published research on numeracy examines this construct among either pre-K or early elementary samples, students with developmental challenges, or is focused on post-secondary and adult cohorts. The numeracy skills of upper-elementary and middle school students is less documented and understood, most notably because of the lack of valid instruments that are developmentally appropriate for the age range. A numeracy scale for use among upper-elementary and middle school students is introduced in this paper. Scale validation was performed using a gender-balanced, racially / ethnically diverse sample …
Educational Assessment Is An Enduring Theme Of Numeracy, H. L. Vacher
Educational Assessment Is An Enduring Theme Of Numeracy, H. L. Vacher
Numeracy
The Assessment Theme Collection in this issue brings the count of papers on QL assessment to 22 out of the 136 papers (16.2%) in the journal’s first 15 issues. After the first ten issues (our first five years), the counts were 13 and 85 respectively (15.1%). A table in this editorial updates the list of our papers on the subject.
Making College Count: An Examination Of Quantitative Reasoning Activities In Higher Education, Louis M. Rocconi, Amber D. Lambert, Alexander C. Mccormick, Shimon A. Sarraf
Making College Count: An Examination Of Quantitative Reasoning Activities In Higher Education, Louis M. Rocconi, Amber D. Lambert, Alexander C. Mccormick, Shimon A. Sarraf
Numeracy
Findings from national studies along with more frequent calls from those who employ college graduates suggest an urgent need for colleges and universities to increase opportunities for students to develop quantitative reasoning (QR) skills. To address this issue, the current study examines the relationship between the frequency of QR activities during college and student and institutional characteristics, as well as whether students at institutions with an emphasis on QR (at least one QR course requirement for all students) report more QR activity. Results show that gender, race-ethnicity, major, full-time status, first-generation status, age, institutional enrollment size, and institutional control are …
The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane
The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane
Numeracy
The more statistical analyses performed in the analysis of research data, the more likely it is that one or more of the conclusions will be in error. Multiple statistical analyses can occur when the sample contains several subgroups and the researchers perform separate analyses for each subgroup. For example, separate analyses may be done for different ethnic groups, different levels of education, and/or for both genders. Media reports of research frequently omit information on the number of subgroup analyses performed thus leaving the reader with insufficient information to assess the validity of the conclusions. This article discusses the problems with …
Quantitative Reasoning Learning Progressions For Environmental Science: Developing A Framework, Robert L. Mayes, Franziska Peterson, Rachel Bonilla
Quantitative Reasoning Learning Progressions For Environmental Science: Developing A Framework, Robert L. Mayes, Franziska Peterson, Rachel Bonilla
Numeracy
Quantitative reasoning is a complex concept with many definitions and a diverse account in the literature. The purpose of this article is to establish a working definition of quantitative reasoning within the context of science, construct a quantitative reasoning framework, and summarize research on key components in that framework. Context underlies all quantitative reasoning; for this review, environmental science serves as the context.In the framework, we identify four components of quantitative reasoning: the quantification act, quantitative literacy, quantitative interpretation of a model, and quantitative modeling. Within each of these components, the framework provides elements that comprise the four components. The …