The influences on adult quantitative literacy were studied using information from the National Adult Literacy Survey, 1,800,000 individuals between 25 and 35 years of age and not in school. The major influences on quantitative literacy were educational background (t = 123-; df = 1; p<.0001), daily television usage (t = 1538; df = 1; p<.0001), and disability (t = 713; df = a; p<.0001). Education impacted television usage (t = 691; df = 1; p<.0001) and personal yearly income (t = 991; df = 1; p<.0001). Ethnicity affected income levels (t = 898; df = 1; p<.0001), which in turn influenced television viewing (t = 1514; df = 1; p<.0001). The results indicated that education seemed the key to increasing levels of quantitative literacy. Library usage, parents' education, and gender did not exhibit any relationship with quantitative literacy.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education