Introduction

We live in a society filled with quantitative information about social, economic, and medical issues that are critical to decisions we make. In this technological age, the average citizen is confronted with a wealth of quantitative knowledge that can be overwhelming and often misleading or incorrect (Cox, 2000). Many examples exist in areas as diverse as developing a budget for the AIDS crisis in South Africa, religion, sales profits, college rankings, and politics.

This fundamental change in how our culture shares information requires that every citizen attain a high level of quantitative literacy (QL). Yet students still learn quantitative skills in settings that are isolated from real world experiences, and therefore complete their education with inadequate quantitative abilities, unable to deal with the numbers that appear in everyday life (Steen, 2001).

As much as 20 years ago, national reports were calling for higher standards in mathematics and a curriculum that would help students learn to “apply mathematics in everyday situations” (U.S. Department of Education, 1983). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) emphasizes the importance of QL in Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000), stating that technology and quantitative information have become commonplace for today's American citizen, significant change from life just a few decades ago. In addition, the level of mathematical thinking and problem solving required in the current workplace has increased dramatically.