FAQs About QR

 What is QR?

From the AAC&U QR Value rubric “Quantitative Literacy (QL) – also known as Numeracy or Quantitative Reasoning (QR) – is a "habit of mind," competency, and comfort in working with numerical data. Individuals with strong QL skills possess the ability to reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. They understand and can create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence and they can clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate).”

What qualifies as QR?

Quantitative reasoning includes:

• interpreting quantitative information presented in mathematical forms-- words, charts, tables, figures

• taking numbers and representing them in the appropriate mathematical form or visualization

• analyzing data and understanding the limits of numerical/quantitative analysis

• understanding and evaluating key assumptions in estimating, modeling, and data analysis

• being able to use quantitative evidence to support an argument in written communication

• applying mathematical or statistical concepts and skills to discipline--specific problems

Can you provide examples of a QR assignment? 

Some examples include:

• Learning how to access data and construct visualizations to explain historical, economic, and sociological trends to better understand the context in which a book was written

• Learning about art fraud by calculating profit margins and the ratio of purchase prices for forged and real paintings

• Using Old Bailey online to study trends in historical crime

• Detecting text similarities

• Learning how to write with numbers

• Using geometry to calculate lighting design

• Analyzing food labels

• Calculating scale or distance on a map

• Visualizing data-- making and interpreting charts and graphs