Measuring Domain-Specific Quantitative Reasoning in Business and Economics

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Innovative Investigations Into Student Outcomes

Abstract

Following a situated approach, we define domain-specific quantitative reasoning (DSQR) in business and economics (B&E) as a skill that allows for reasoned thinking regarding numbers, arithmetic operations, graphical analyses, and patterns in B&E tasks. When assessing B&E knowledge, we use two tests with items where DSQR skills are necessary. That provides the opportunity to extract DSQR as the skill for handling quantitative data in B&E tasks, as DSQR items constitute a separable factor within a Confirmatory Factor Analysis model. Within a regression analysis, we found hardly any differences between quantitative and verbal reasoning. A distinction can only be made regarding students with completed vocational training, who performed better in quantitative reasoning tasks.

Authors

• Susanne Schmidt, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

• Olga Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Richard J. Shavelson, Stanford University