Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy

Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy in the Core Curriculum

Modern life and social interactions in the 21st century are heavily influenced by data. It permeates every aspect: from our personal lives to our roles as citizens in a democratic society. But data – in and of itself – is meaningless. What transforms data into a powerful tool is the ability to gather, assess, and extract meaning from it, and to understand both its utility and its limitations. To this end, the importance of data interpretation in contemporary society is difficult to overstate. We believe that a well-rounded liberal science and arts education must equip students to use data to communicate cogent arguments about complex phenomena.

The Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy (QRDL) requirement in the Core Curriculum will help students understand how real-world data interpretation progresses from a set of numbers, often incomplete and with measurement errors, to a visual distillation that clearly conveys meaning. While mathematics and statistics provide a necessary foundation for quantitative reasoning and data literacy, the power of pure mathematics lies in its abstraction. In contrast, QRDL emphasizes a distinctive variety of concrete contexts and applications. Specifically, the QRDL requirement will differ from a mathematics requirement in two important ways. Emphasis will first be on the applications of quantitative methods to real-world academic subjects and second on understanding the inherent messiness of data. This “messiness” might require estimates and approximations, often called back-of-the-envelope calculations, to determine an appropriate launch point for more precise analysis.

As instructors design their courses, they need to consider three categories of learning goals and the specific goals within each category that collectively serve to anchor the QRDL curriculum:

Build a Quantitative Data Toolbox

To gather and organize data to highlight patterns and make it accessible for analysis.
To recognize the roles of estimation, approximation, and precision as tools important in quantitative analyses.
To become comfortable performing and/or evaluating quantitative analyses.
- Select and apply pertinent statistical methods to explore and analyze data on one’s own. AND/OR
- To rigorously evaluate quantitative data and interpretations of these data when presented by others.

Translate and Make Meaning

To translate real-world and disciplinary questions or intellectual inquiries into quantitative frameworks using graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods.
To be aware of the strengths and weaknesses, uncertainties, and biases inherent in quantitative data and quantitative analyses and to incorporate this understanding into the interpretation and representation of data.
To think critically about numerical representations and to employ them in one’s critical thinking and when making complex claims.

Communicate and Consider Impact

To effectively communicate statistical methods and results both visually and textually to a diversity of audiences with consideration of contextual, social, or ethical issues.

For Faculty: Apply to Receive a Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy (QRDL) Course Tag

Faculty who want their course to count toward the Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy requirement must submit a short application form by March 1, 2026.

Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy Course Application

This form will ask you for the following:

Basic course info. These questions include the semester(s) in which the course is offered, credits, caps, prerequisites, etc.
A syllabus from a recent offering of the course. This should include a course description, learning goals, and information about topics covered in the course.
QRDL learning goals. Faculty will be asked to explain how their course meets the seven goals distributed among the three categories of learning goals. This should take just 1-2 sentences for each goal.
2-3 representative assignments from a recent offering of the course. These can be readings, tests, papers, problem sets. You will have the opportunity to describe in 1-2 sentences how each assignment helps students practice the QRDL learning goals.
An invitation to ask any questions. We recognize that the learning goals might require some (hopefully minor) changes to an existing course, and you might have questions about how to meet them. We welcome the opportunity to talk, be helpful, and collaborate in this process.

Importantly, the form also allows you to complete the application entirely online or initiate a conversation with the QRDL Committee if you prefer. Our goal is to ensure that students can take high-quality courses that effectively address the QRDL learning goals while minimizing the administrative burden on faculty.

The QRDL Committee will notify instructors of the approval status of their course prior to the start of student registration.