Quantitative Reasoning: Number Analogies, Number Puzzles, and Number Series
The Quantitative Reasoning battery measures early number sense: counting, comparing quantities, part–part–whole thinking, and simple addition and subtraction. At the Kindergarten level the items use pictures, dot groups, and numerals, and the teacher reads the directions aloud; the child chooses a picture or numeral, so no written computation is required. The battery has three subtests: Number Analogies, Number Puzzles, and Number Series.
Core rules
- Number Analogies: The first pair shows a number change; apply the same change to the second pair. If 1 → 2, the change is +1; for 3 → __, the answer is 4. At this level the change is usually a small whole-number step.
- Number Puzzles: Treat the item as a part–part–whole equation. If 3 plus an unknown part makes 7, the missing part is what you count up to reach 7, or 7 − 3.
- Number Series: Find the steady step from one term to the next, then continue it. Check whether the sequence is counting forward, counting backward, or skipping by the same amount each time.
Worked example
A puzzle shows 3 stars and a covered group, with 7 stars shown as the total: 3 + ? = 7. Count up from 3: 4, 5, 6, 7 - that is 4 counts. Or subtract: 7 − 3 = 4. The missing number is 4. Choosing 10 is the common error: it adds the two visible numbers instead of finding the missing part.
Traps that cost marks
- Counting the question-mark group as if it were already known.
- Adding when the story or equation asks for “how many more” or a missing part.
- Off-by-one errors when counting up from a number - start the count after the given number.
- In a series, applying the step to the wrong term or assuming the step changes when it does not.
- Picking the largest numeral instead of checking the relationship.