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This article describes a study of learning when students used interactive spreadsheet-based computer tutorials in a mathematical literacy course. It foregrounds theories relating to the role of computer technology (and specifically spreadsheets) as a mediator for learning of mathematics. It outlines the application of quantitative methods involving pre-and post-testing of students, both in the computer laboratory and in the lecture sessions, and discusses factors constraining the experimental design and the usefulness of the results. There are indications that the data reveal real differences between the learning experiences in the lecture sessions and the computer laboratories. It appears that in some respects the computer tutorials were more effective in conveying the concepts than the lecture sessions were. A method of analysing and representing the data, that tracks the extent of learning of concepts through the pre-and post-tests, was developed. It allows for the performance of sub-groups of students to be examined separately. This analysis shows that simple definitions of disadvantage (such as having English as a second language) are inadequate to account for the poor performance of students in the lower quartile.

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This paper explores the terms 'mathematical literacy', 'quantitative literacy' and 'numeracy', in order to gain theoretical clarity on their meanings and the ways in which they are used. The teaching-learning situation and the learner are constructed in particular ways by these terms, and different understandings of these terms may reflect the values and rationales of various stakeholders who promote them. We propose the term 'academic numeracy practices' in order to emphasise the socially situated nature of all practices, to avoid reifying 'numeracy' into a set of discrete skills that an individual can either possess or lack, and to avoid extending the characteristics of one mode (namely, writing) to other modes. In arguing for the new term, we draw on the theoretical orientation of New Literacies Studies and multimodality. We exemplify our position by looking at charts as conventionalised practice in Higher Education in South Africa, focusing on BMI charts in the Health Sciences.

The National Benchmark Test Project (NBTP) was commissioned by Higher Education South Africa in 2005 to assess the academic proficiency of prospective students. The competencies assessed include quantitative literacy using the NBTP QL test. This instrument is a criterion-referenced multiple-choice test developed collaboratively by South African academics and provides complementary information to that provided by the norm-referenced school-leaving examination. In this paper we outline the theoretical framework that provides the foundation for the NBTP QL test and describe the test construct. In the QL test specifications, there are three dimensions specified for each item: the competencies (reasoning and behaviour) that are required to answer the item correctly, the main mathematical and statistical ideas the item addresses, and a characterisation of the level of cognitive processing the item calls for. The results are reported using benchmarks which place students' scores into proficiency bands which indicate the extent to which curricula should be responsive to their level of preparedness. We discuss the extent to which the NBTP QL test is succeeding in contributing to meeting the goals of the NBT project. The test is intended to provide institutions with information that will assist with admissions and placement decisions, but the QL test scores are not used uniformly for these purposes across the higher education sector. The NBTP QL test results show that the majority of students are severely underprepared for the QL demands of higher education and that a comprehensive systemic response requiring curriculum change at many levels is required. Vera Frith is the coordinator of the Numeracy Centre, a unit within the Centre for Higher Education Development at the University of Cape Town. Her primary interests are the quantitative literacy development of university students and the appropriate curriculum for this purpose.Robert Prince is the test development coordinator in the Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement at the University of Cape Town. His interests include the assessment of academic literacies, including quantitative literacy, and the manner in which this assessment can inform the development of appropriate curriculum interventions.