Numeracy

From Open Encyclopedia

Numeracy is a term that emerged in the United Kingdom as a contraction of "numerical literacy". In the United States, it is somewhat better known as "Quantitative Literacy," and is familiar to math educators and intellectuals but not in the common usage. Innumeracy is the absence of numeracy.

The UK's Department for Education and Skills defines numeracy in their National Strategy documents as follows:

Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in mathematics but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.

Innumeracy has been blamed for the consumer debt that is endemic to the United States, and the apparent general lack of basic mathematical sense among certain individuals. In many developed countries, even prominent and successful people will attest, sometimes proudly, to low mathematical competence, in sharp contrast to the stigma associated with illiteracy.

Pathological innumeracy, known as dyscalculia, is often associated with neurological lesions.

[edit]