Look, it’s math, it’s statistics,
its history and psychology!
It’s Quantitative Reasoning!
Quantitative Reasoning:
The Final Frontier of Core Competencies
Susan Elrod, Ph.D.
California State University, Chico
WASC ARC 2015
QR is a WSCUC CC
•  The Five Core Competencies (CCs):
•  Writing
•  Oral Communication
•  Quantitative Reasoning
•  Critical Thinking
•  Information Literacy
In the 2013 Handbook, CFR 2.2a states that baccalaureate programs must: “requires ins)tu)ons to report on their students’ levels of performance at or near the )me of gradua)on in ﬁve core competencies: wri)ng, oral communica)on, quan)ta)ve reasoning, cri)cal thinking, and informa)on literacy.” Core Competencies
… are critical higher-order intellectual skills for
students to develop in order to be successful at school,
at work, and in their private and civic lives.
Accordingly, WSCUC’s institutional review process
calls upon institutions to describe how the curriculum
addresses each of these competencies, explain their
learning outcomes in relation to the core competencies,
and demonstrate the extent to which these outcomes
are achieved.
QR is an AAC&U LEAP ELO
Quantitative reasoning is one of the LEAP (Liberal
Education for America’s Promise) Essential Learning
Outcomes (or ELOs) developed by the Association of
American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), along with
inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking,
written and oral communication, information literacy
and teamwork and problem solving.
http://www.aacu.org/leap
QF is in the DQP
The Lumina Foundation’s Degree Qualifications
Profile (DQP) calls this skill quantitative fluency and
places it, like LEAP, among several important
intellectual skills: analytic inquiry, information
literacy, engaging diverse perspectives, and
communication fluency.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/resources/dqp
Think and Share:
What does QR mean for the
students in your department/
program/college?
WSCUC QR Definition
•  the ability to apply mathematical concepts to the
interpretation and analysis of quantitative
information in order to solve a wide range of
problems, from those arising in pure and applied
research to everyday issues and questions.
•  It may include such dimensions as ability to apply
math skills, judge reasonableness, communicate
quantitative information, and recognize the limits of
mathematical or statistical methods.
Source:
http://www.wascsenior.org/resources/handbook-accreditation-2013/part-iii-wasc-quality-assurance/institutional-report/
components-institutional-report/4-educational-quality-student-learning-core-competencies-and-standards-performance
Digital Humanities
Underwood and Sellers, J. Digital Humanities , No. 1 Vol. 2. 2012
National Numeracy Network
Definition
A comfort, competency, and "habit of mind" in working
with numerical data as being as important in today's
highly quantitative society as reading and writing were in
previous generations.
A ability that emphasizes the higher-order reasoning and
critical thinking skills needed to understand and to create
sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative data
http://serc.carleton.edu/nnn/index.html
Vaccines and Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
In 1992, Denmark and Sweden stopped using
thimerosal in vaccines. This study compared the rate of
ASD in these countries before and after thimerosal was
removed. In both countries, ASD rates increased
between 1987 and 1999. If thimerosal exposure was
related to ASD, one would expect that ASD rates
would decrease after 1992 when children were no
longer being exposed.
Should I vaccinate my child?
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/00_pdf/CDCStudiesonVaccinesandAutism.pdf
Millenials and Numeracy
•  Since 2003, the percentages of U.S .millennials scoring below
level 3 in numeracy (the minimum standard) increased at all
levels of educational attainment.
•  U.S. millennials with a four-year bachelor’s degree scored higher
in numeracy than their counterparts in only two countries:
Poland and Spain.
•  The scores of U.S. millennials whose highest level of educational
attainment was either less than high school or high school were
lower than those of their counterparts in almost every other
participating country.
•  Our best-educated millennials—those with a master’s or research
degree—only scored higher than their peers in Ireland, Poland,
and Spain.
Source: ETS, America’s Skills Challenge. 2015
Personalized Genetic Medical Data
From Lumina’s DQP
•  Associate level:
•  Presents accurate calculations and symbolic
operations, and explains how such calculations and
operations are used in either his or her specific field
of study or in interpreting social and economic
trends.
•  Bachelor’s level:
•  Constructs accurate and relevant calculations,
estimates, risk analyses or quantitative evaluations
of public information and presents them in papers,
projects or multi-media events.
Traditional Math
QR
Abstract, deductive discipline
Practical, robust habit of mind
Employed in professions such as sciences,
technology and engineering
Employed in every aspect of an alert,
informed life
Rises above context
Anchored in context
Objects of study are ideals
Objects of study are data
Serves primarily professional purposes
Is essential for all graduates’ personal and
civic responsibilities
From "Everything I Needed to Know about Averages. . . I Learned in College" by Lynn Arthur
Steen, professor of mathematics, St. Olaf College.
Peer Review Summer 2014: http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/summer
Think and Share:
Think of an outcome for QR
in your discipline or at the
upper division in GE level.
Average Frequency of QR Activities by Major
and Class Level (NSSE)
Rocconi, Louis M., Amber D. Lambert, Alexander C. McCormick, and Shimon A. Sarraf. 2013.
“Making College Count: An Examination of Quantitative Reasoning Activities in Higher Education.”
Numeracy 6 (2): Article 10. Available at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol6/iss2/art10.
Quantitative Reasoning Encounters
(QREs) at Carleton College
• 
Students complete three courses that have been designated as providing
quantitative reasoning encounters (QRE).
• 
The goal of the requirement is to increase students’ appreciation for the power
of QR and to enhance their ability to evaluate, construct, and communicate
arguments using quantitative information.
• 
A course designated as a QRE will include at least one substantial assignment
or module designed to enhance one or more of the following QR skills:
•  Possessing the habit of mind to consider what numerical evidence might add to the
analysis of a problem;
•  Identifying appropriate quantitative or numerical evidence to address a question;
•  Locating or collecting numerical or quantitative data;
•  Interpreting numerical evidence properly including recognizing the limitations of
methods and sources used;
•  Effectively communicating arguments that involve numerical or quantitative evidence.
Quantitative Reasoning
Encounters (QREs)
http://serc.carleton.edu/quirk/quantitative_writing/examples.html
Assessment
Source: http://assessment.uconn.edu/primer/
Standardized Tests
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•  Sundre, Donna L. 2008. The Quan)ta)ve Reasoning Test, Version 9: Test Manual. Harrisonburg, VA: Center for Assessment and Research Studies. •  Gaze, Eric, et al., Quan)ta)ve Literacy and Reasoning Assessment (QLRA): hOp://serc.carleton.edu/qlra/
index.html •  Na)onal Assessment of Adult Literacy: hOp://nces.ed.gov/naal/ ore
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AAC&U’s VALUE Rubric
http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/quantitative-literacy
Rubric for QR in Writing
Grawe, Nathan D., Neil S. Lutsky, and Christopher J. Tassava. 2010. “A Rubric for Assessing QuanYtaYve Reasoning in WriOen Arguments.” Numeracy 3 (1), hOp://services.bepress.com/
numeracy/vol3/iss1/art3. Challenges to Implementing QR
•  Curriculum: Making sure it is part of the curriculum
•  Faculty Development: Faculty in all disciplines need
professional development support to enhance QR in
their courses
•  Assessment: QR being included in program/
institutional assessment activities
•  Need: Administrators, faculty and policy makers
insufficiently aware of the increasing need for QR
2001 Study by Mathematical Association of America (MAA)
Quantitative Reasoning
Program at Bowdoin College
•  Assessing first-year students' quantitative
literacy
•  Advising students regarding appropriate
quantitative courses
•  Establishing study groups for quantitative
courses
•  Providing individual tutoring for students
in quantitative courses
•  Offering supplemental support to
quantitative courses
http://www.bowdoin.edu/qr-program/
Hawaii Big Five-O
May 19-20, 2015 Chaminade University
Honolulu, HI
Retreat on the Five Core Competencies
http://www.wascsenior.org/content/big-fiveaddressing-core-competencies