Quantitative literacy and the continuing gap between curriculum policy and practice

Opportunities to learn related to the use of quantitative reasoning to solve higher-order real-world applications that reflect the messy nature of the world are scarce and vary across countries. Those experiences are essential to the development of quantitative literacy. This literacy, like that related to language, is critical for all children. To examine this issue, 19 countries were involved in a study that analyzed the degree of emphasis placed on quantitative literacy in their curriculum standards. Most countries have such policies but vary appreciably regarding their degree of emphasis. Furthermore, the countries’ 8th grade textbooks were analyzed to determine the degree to which those books provided opportunities to develop quantitative literacy. The results identified a major policy-practice gap.