Editing Numeracy (section)

==Definitions and assessment==
Fundamental (or rudimentary) numeracy skills include understanding of the real number line, time, measurement, and estimation.<ref name="Reyna2009">{{cite journal |last1=Reyna |first1=V.F. |last2=Nelson |first2=W.L. |last3=Han |first3=P.K. |last4=Dieckmann |first4=N.F. |title=How numeracy influences risk comprehension and medical decision making |doi=10.1037/a0017327 |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=135 |issue=6 |pages=943–973 |year=2009 |pmid=19883143 |pmc=2844786}}</ref> Fundamental skills include basic skills (the ability to identify and understand numbers) and computational skills (the ability to perform simple arithmetical operations and compare numerical magnitudes).

More sophisticated numeracy skills include understanding of ratio concepts (notably fractions, proportions, percentages, and probabilities), and knowing when and how to perform multistep operations.<ref name="Reyna2009" /> Two categories of skills are included at the higher levels: the analytical skills (the ability to understand numerical information, such as required to interpret graphs and charts) and the statistical skills (the ability to apply higher probabilistic and statistical computation, such as conditional probabilities).

A variety of tests have been developed for assessing numeracy and health numeracy.<ref name="Reyna2009" /><ref name="Peters2012"/><ref name="Schwartz1997">{{cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=L.M. |last2=Woloshin |first2=S. |last3=Black |first3=W.C. |last4=Welch |first4=H.G. |title=The Role of Numeracy in Understanding the Benefit of Screening Mammography |doi=10.7326/0003-4819-127-11-199712010-00003 |journal=Annals of Internal Medicine |volume=127 |issue=11 |pages=966–972 |year=1997 |pmid=9412301 |s2cid=19412405 }}</ref><ref name="Lipkus2001">{{cite journal |last1=Lipkus |first1=I.M. |last2=Samsa |first2=G. |last3=Rimer |first3=B.K. |doi=10.1177/0272989X0102100105 |title=General Performance on a Numeracy Scale among Highly Educated Samples |journal=Medical Decision Making |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=37–44 |year=2001 |pmid=11206945 |s2cid=25249366 }}</ref><ref name="Cokely2012">{{cite journal |last1=Cokely |first1=E.T. |last2=Galesic |first2=M. |last3=Schulz |first3=E. |last4=Ghazal |first4=S. |last5=Garcia-Retamero |first5=R. |year=2012 |title=Measuring risk literacy: The Berlin Numeracy Test |url=http://journal.sjdm.org/11/11808/jdm11808.pdf |journal=Judgment and Decision Making |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=25–47 |doi=10.1017/S1930297500001819 |s2cid=11617465 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schapira |first1=M.M. |last2=Walker |first2=C.M. |last3=Cappaert |first3=K.J. | last4=Ganschow |first4=P.S. |last5=Fletcher |first5=K.E. |last6=McGinley |first6=E.L. |last7=Del Pozo |first7=S. |last8=Schauer |first8=C. |last9=Tarima |first9=S. |last10=Jacobs |first10=E.A. |doi=10.1177/0272989X12447239 |title=The Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument: A Measure of Health Numeracy Developed Using Item Response Theory |journal=Medical Decision Making |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=851–865 |year=2012 |pmid=22635285 |pmc=4162626}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fagerlin |first1=A. |last2=Zikmund-Fisher |first2=B.J. |last3=Ubel |first3=P.A. |last4=Jankovic |first4=A. |last5=Derry |first5=H.A. |last6=Smith |first6=D.M. |doi=10.1177/0272989X07304449 |title=Measuring Numeracy without a Math Test: Development of the Subjective Numeracy Scale |journal=Medical Decision Making |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=672–680 |year=2007 |pmid=17641137 |s2cid=30150256 }}</ref> Different tests have been developed to evaluate health numeracy. Two of these tests that have been found to be "reliable and valid" are the GHNT-21 and GHNT-6.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Osborn|first1=Chandra Y.|last2=Wallston|first2=Kenneth A.|last3=Shpigel|first3=Adam|last4=Cavanaugh|first4=Kerri|last5=Kripalani|first5=Sunil|last6=Rothman|first6=Russell L.|date=June 2013|title=Development and Validation of the General Health Numeracy Test (GHNT)|journal=Patient Education and Counseling|volume=91|issue=3|pages=350–356|doi=10.1016/j.pec.2013.01.001|issn=0738-3991|pmc=3644342|pmid=23433635}}</ref>