The Berlin Numeracy Test is a powerful psychometric tool designed to assess an individual’s level of risk literacy and statistical numeracy. Risk literacy refers to an individual’s ability to interpret risks and rewards and act on the information gained. Statistical numeracy, on the other hand, refers to any operations of statistical and probabilistic computations.
Note that risk literacy and assessment are essential in everyday life; specifically, in the fields of engineering, business, and health. An individual who is risk literate will effectively evaluate and understand risks and rewards to make an informed and skilled decision, based on both analytical thinking and meaningful intuition. Thus, the Berlin Numeracy Test is a valuable tool which assesses an individual’s understanding of mathematics, statistical numeracy, and risk literacy.
The Berlin Numeracy Test (Cokely et al., 2012) is built on profound research regarding numeracy (Lipkus et al., 2001; Schwartz et al., 1997). The Berlin Numeracy Test is a psychometrically sound, refined, easy-to-use, and brief version of previous numeracy and cognitive tests. The task has several formats to offer flexibility across various platforms and settings. In fact, the Berlin Numeracy Test has an adaptive computer format, a traditional paper-and-pencil format, and a single-item (median) format.