Quantitative Reasoning (QR) competencies are increasingly vital for academic and professional success across disciplines. This study examines the QR proficiency of over 400 undergraduates through a mixed-methods approach, integrating survey-based self-assessments (n = 469) with direct evaluations of final exams (n = 80). This study took place at a public, primarily undergraduate, four-year state university in Northern California with approximate enrollment of 7,500 students. Although students reported frequent engagement in foundational QR tasks— such as calculation and interpretation—rubric-based scoring revealed inconsistent levels of mastery, particularly on higher-order skills like evaluation and coherence. Regression analyses linked confidence to calculation and data visualization abilities but suggested that interpretation may be underappreciated or conflated with other QR dimensions. Qualitative responses emphasized finance-related applications while overlooking broader contexts for quantitative literacy. Limitations of the study include data collection at a single institution, convenience sampling, and utilizing a single artifact type (final exams) for direct assessment. Overall, the findings highlight a need for more explicit instruction and assessment of complex QR tasks, along with curricular design that foregrounds real-world data analysis and problem solving. These results offer practical insights into reinforcing QR education, ultimately supporting students' ability to apply quantitative knowledge meaningfully across diverse contexts.

In South Africa, university completion rates remain low, with only 23% of students finishing within the regulation time (three or four years). These completion rates continue to reflect racial inequalities, with 'White' students significantly more likely to complete degrees in professional fields such as engineering and commerce compared to their 'African' counterparts. To address these challenges, the South African higher education institutions, through their umbrella body, introduced the National Benchmark (NB) tests to assess students' academic literacy skills—including quantitative literacy, academic literacy, and mathematics—to identify those most at risk of struggling with the curriculum. The NB tests aim to evaluate students' readiness for higher education using scores and proficiency bands. This study examines the predictive validity of the NB Quantitative Literacy test scores and proficiency bands in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes in the faculties of commerce, engineering and science. The analysis focuses on completion, dropout, and retention rates within one first-time entry cohort at a South African university. Among 2,493 first-time entering students, 15% dropped out after the first year, 22% left by the regulation time, and 23% exited within two additional years. Graduation rates were 34% within regulation time and 67% within two extra years. Findings highlight the predictive value of the NB Quantitative Literacy assessment, emphasizing its potential role in informing admission and placement decisions, curriculum design, and teaching and learning strategies to enhance student success in STEM programmes.

We utilize concepts of numeracy including number sense, reading and interpreting graphs, basic probability and statistics, and reasoning to estimate guessing and verify our earlier findings on human self-assessment as replicable. Our field study employed a low-stakes paired measures assessment (11,229 scores from the validated Science Literacy Concept Inventory and postdicted global self-assessment ratings generated upon completion of the Inventory) in conjunction with a five-category taxonomy of self-assessment proficiency. We also simulated 11,229 random guessing responses, to model responses that disengaged, purely random-guessing participants should produce. At least 90% of participants sincerely engaged with the instruments of measure, self-assessed imperfectly but reasonably well, and exhibited equal tendencies to underestimate or overestimate their scores by modest amounts. Results contradict the prevalent claim that most people overestimate their actual abilities, with the least knowledgeable being grossly overconfident (ie, the Dunning-Kruger effect). In this study, disengaged, random guessers could account for nearly all participants who grossly overestimated. Confirming that significant numbers of low-scoring participants are aware of their poor performance removes support from the "dual-burden hypothesis," which states that low-scoring participants lack both the competence and metacognitive competence needed for accurate self-assessment. The amount of guessing in a populace does not attenuate the "effect," as claimed in recent psychology literature, but magnifies it. Studies of paired measures yielded a new understanding of guessing. The "effect" is better explained as an illusion produced by probability than as an accurate portrayal of human self-assessment.

In this study, we present evidence for the validity of a shortened form of the Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment, a validated instrument assessing the numeracy and math-related affect of undergraduate students in general education/introductory science courses. Previously published analyses of QuaRCS data revealed that 1) roughly 30% of students found the assessment boring, leading to lower self-reported effort and 2) affective factors (e.g. numerical self-efficacy) were significant predictors of QuaRCS score. As a result, we reduced the length of the assessment from 25 to 15 quantitative items, and expanded the affective variable selection from three to eight to include math related anxiety, situational math affect, sense of belonging, growth mindset and metacognition. We administered the abbreviated assessment ("QuaRCS light") to roughly 15,000 students across 18 institutions and validated it with classical test theory and item response theory based methods. We found, despite a modest decrease in reliability, students' effort scores were significantly higher on QuaRCS light, justifying this tradeoff. In addition, we validated the new affective factors using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. When included in a linear regression model as predictors of QuaRCS score, these 8 factors explain 31% of the observed score variance, increasing to 49% when student confidence, effort, and calculator usage are included. Our findings emphasize the importance of affective factors in understanding and fostering numeracy, and this work informs the design of more holistic and effective assessments that are appropriate for assessing numeracy in diverse student populations.

This study was motivated by the need for contextual, interactive assessments aligned with the characteristics of the Merdeka Curriculum in developing students’ mathematical literacy skills. The purpose of this research was to develop a Merdeka Belajar assessment based on ethnomathematics and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) integrated with the digital application Quizizz to enhance students’ mathematical literacy. The study was conducted at Dharma Pancasila Private Vocational School (SMK Swasta Dharma Pancasila) in Medan during the odd semester of the 2025/2026 academic year, employing a Research and Development (R&D) approach using a modified Dick & Carrey model through several stages: needs analysis, design, development, validation, limited trial, and field testing. The research subjects were ninth-grade students selected through total sampling. The research instruments included expert validation sheets, mathematical literacy tests, questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The expert validation results indicated that the developed assessment was categorized as very valid, with an average score of 4.52. The limited trial results showed that 93% of students stated that the questions were easy to understand, and 100% found the Quizizz application easy to use. The effectiveness test demonstrated an increase in the average score from 62.3 to 84.1 with an N-Gain value of 0.58 (moderate–high category). The independent t-test result showed a significance value of p = 0.003 < 0.05, indicating a significant difference between pretest and posttest results. The study concluded that the assessment based on ethnomathematics, HOTS, and Quizizz was proven to be valid, practical, effective, and well-received by both students and teachers. The implication of this research is that this assessment model can serve as an innovative alternative to strengthen mathematical literacy, integrate local cultural values, and support the digital and sustainable implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the curriculum that must be developed to address challenges and seize opportunities in the era of Golden Indonesia 2045, with a focus on critical thinking skills, technology integration, and contextual approaches. The method used is library research. Data sources were obtained from relevant literature, including books, journals, and scientific articles on the selected topic. The discussion results show that technology-based learning innovations, such as software and adaptive learning systems, can be a solution for improving students' mathematical literacy. In addition, a contextual approach that integrates mathematical concepts with other fields can prepare students to address real problems in the digital era. The conclusion of this article is that developing a mathematics curriculum for Indonesia Emas 2045 must focus on improving critical thinking skills, contextualizing material, and integrating technology into learning. By overcoming challenges such as the technology gap, teaching quality, and prior curriculum implementation, mathematics education is expected to produce a generation that is superior and competitive in the era of globalization.

People working with data adopt proxy measures when they find it difficult to measure something directly. In the U.S., infanticide (fairly easy to count) is used as a proxy for physical child abuse. However, infanticide is harder to count cross-nationally, leading researchers to use sex ratios as a proxy for infanticides

H. Len Vacher, co-founding editor of Numeracy and giant in our field, passed away April 21, 2025. A brief testament to his contributions to numeracy can be found in an editorial in the previous issue of this journal. Here, we take a moment of editorial silence in Len's honor.

Tom Chivers’ Everything is Predictable: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World , is an interesting and wide-ranging narrative on Bayesian thinking, its history, and its applicability to both our everyday lives and the pursuit of scientific truth. Although appropriate for the non-expert, afficionados and teachers of quantitative literacy should find the plethora of examples, links to psychology as it applies to how people reason about probabilities, and even Chivers’ philosophical musings informative and thought-provoking.