The Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation (OIEE) created the following to aid instructors in selecting and/or designing assignments to assess Empirical & Quantitative Skills.
¹ 19 Tex. Admin. Code §4.28 (2021).
Definition
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board states that the Texas Core Curriculum objective of Empirical & Quantitative Skills is “to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.”¹ Courses in the following Foundational Component Areas are responsible for teaching and assessing Empirical & Quantitative Skills: Life & Physical Sciences; Mathematics; and Social & Behavioral Sciences.¹ 19 Tex. Admin. Code §4.28 (2021).
Empirical & Quantitative Skills Rubrics & Assignment Checklist
Depending on the assignment type, artifacts will be assessed with either the Computational or Analytical Rubric.The Importance of Empirical & Quantitative Skills
- Current careers demand the ability to interpret data, evaluate claims, and make evidence-based decisions. Nearly three quarters of employers viewed analyzing and interpreting data as "very important" for strong applicants.¹
- Builds the foundation for evidence-based reasoning, a cornerstone of scientific and policy decision-making.²
- Critical skills for undergraduates to conduct and understand research.
- Empowers students to adapt to new technologies, shifting job markets, and evolving societal challenges.³
¹ American Association of Colleges & Universities. (2023). The Career-ready graduate: What employers say about the difference college makes. https://dgmg81phhvh63.cloudfront.net/content/user-photos/Research/PDFs/AACU-2023-Employer-Report.pdf
² Stephen, S.J. (2024). Academic success in online programs. Springer Texts in Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54439-2_10
³ The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). The future of education and skills. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2018/06/the-future-of-education-and-skills_5424dd26/54ac7020-en.pdf
Best Practices for Assessing
- Share the rubric with students and highlight components as necessary to be included in the assignment.
- Scaffold instruction to help students build a conceptual foundation before advancing to abstract quantitative tasks.¹
- Encourage interpretation not just calculation.
- Provide examples of strong and weak written communication; using class discussion or peer review to examine the quality of ethical issue identification, strength of position, and reasoning about consequences.
- Incorporate active learning strategies using real datasets, simulations, and problem-based learning to improve students' quantitative reasoning.²
- Actively work to reduce math/statistics anxiety and promote positive engagement with quantitative content.
¹ Taber, K.S. (2018) Scaffolding learning: Principles for effective teaching and the design of classroom resources. In M. Abend (ed.) Effective teaching and learning: Perspectives, strategies and implementation (1-43). Nova Science Publishers.
² Freeman et al. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(23), 8410-5. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
