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Reflections on Quantitative Reasoning: An Assessment Perspective
| Citations: | 5 - 0 self |
BibTeX
@MISC{Shavelson_reflectionson,
author = {Richard J. Shavelson},
title = {Reflections on Quantitative Reasoning: An Assessment Perspective},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
If we seek to enhance the quantitative reasoning of the American public, not only do we need to be able to say what quantitative reasoning is, we also need to know how to teach for it and how to measure progress toward the QR goal. My focus is on assessment, but inevitably I also need to address definitional questions. Moreover, teaching and assessing go hand-in-hand. So what is said about assessment has application to teaching (and vice versa). From an assessment perspective the first question that arises about QR is: “What is the construct to be measured? ” Or, “What is the ‘theory ’ or ‘model ’ of QR from which an assessment emanates? ” This question conjures up over 100 years of study of quantitative reasoning. Psychometric, cognitive, and situated theories all have something to say about the question. An early task, therefore, is to set forth a simple assessment framework that provides the structure for the paper—what is to be measured, with what tasks, and with what inferences? Once the framework is sketched, I will introduce definitional questions and set forth a particular definition that constrains what we might assess and how we might assess it.
