Quantitative Reasoning Assessment: Update #1

In May, the Office of General Education initiated the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Assessment at the University of Arizona. Over 30 faculty, staff, and students participated at different stages of this assessment. This cohort represented many different colleges and departments across campus.

The QR Assessment at UArizona is the second of four ABOR-requested assessments of our general education program. The rubric-based assessment objective was to measure student achievement of QR as defined as "...the ability to draw logical conclusions from available quantitative information about a problem under study. It entails competence in critiquing, reflecting upon, and applying quantitative information (e.g. using numerical, graphical, tabular or symbolic representations), in the contexts of personal, professional and public life.”

Achievement of this outcome is best measured through institutional coursework (e.g., Foundational Math, revised general education) that prioritizes reasoning and supports student workforce preparation without fixating on computation.

The UArizona sample included 519 artifacts from seven different general education courses with the QR attribute. These courses ranged from Economics to Latin American Studies to Fashion Industry Science and Technology.

A collective of our faculty worked to create a modified VALUE rubric for Quantitative Reasoning. This version of the rubric is tailored for the students that attend our institution and aligns with the tri-university QR rubric themes. All reviews were calibrated on the rubric prior to the scoring process. Each artifact was evaluated twice, with a third reading required when there were scoring discrepancies.

As the assessment team continues to interpret the information, be on the lookout for future updates!