Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning Assessment

The Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning Assessment (QLRA) project includes three main goals:

  1. Develop a non-proprietary instrument for assessing Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning (QLR) starting with a synthesized version of the existing exams from Bowdoin, Colby-Sawyer and Wellesley Colleges.
  2. Pilot the instrument at two- and four-year colleges across the country to begin creation of a national database of QLR abilities, and provide data for evaluating reliability/validity of instrument. Participating institutions will receive reports comparing their students' performance to national norms.
  3. Create an online resource portal for QLR assessment which will be developed and maintained by the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College.

The 2012 exam of 23 multiple choice questions was administered to 10 institutions and 1,659 students. Results are being used for advising and placement purposes. The exam was refined in 2013 & 2014.

At this time funding for the QLRA project has ended. We encourage visitors interested in the QLRA instrument to fill out the interest form.

Team Members

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation DUE 1140562.

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