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CHAPTER TWO HOW HIGH ARE LITERACY AND NUMERACY LEVELS IN SCOTLAND?
The 2004 BCS70 survey was the first to use objective methods to assess the literacy and numeracy skills of participants living in Scotland. The assessment used multiple-choice items from the Skills for Life survey carried out in England in 2002-03 4. Questions were set at four levels of difficulty, corresponding to Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Skill levels
Respondents' scores in literacy and numeracy assessments were used to place them in one of the following skills' categories:
- Below SCQF Level 2
- SCQF Level 2
- SCQF Level 3
- SCQF Level 4, or
- SCQF Level 5 or higher
Using recent Census figures, the total population of Scotland is 5,062,011
Population under 16 = 1,012,402
Adult population over 16 = 4,049,609
( http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp)
The literacy assessment
The literacy assessment consisted of 30 multiple-choice questions, with respondents' answers to an initial set of 10 questions used to determine whether they went on to answer questions at a higher or lower level of difficulty. Questions concentrated mainly on reading comprehension, but writing composition, grammar and punctuation, and spelling and handwriting were also covered.
The numeracy assessment
Since number skills are more varied and dependent on practice than reading skills, people are often better at some numerical tasks than others, which may be equally difficult. Survey respondents therefore attempted all 17 multiple-choice questions in the numeracy assessment. These covered the following elements of the English national curriculum for numeracy:
- Basic money
- Whole numbers and time
- Measures and proportion
- Weights and scales
- Length and scaling
- Charts and data
- Money calculations
39% of men and 36% of women - more than 1,500,000 adults - had literacy skills at a level to impact on their emloyment opportunities and life chances.
71% of adults - almost 2,900,000 - had numeracy skills that would have similar negative impacts on their lives
Assessed literacy and numeracy levels in Scotland
The initial New Light report found that literacy levels in England and Scotland were nearly identical, though slightly more cohort members north of the border had numeracy skills at or above SCQF Level 5. Overall, 8% of men and women in Scotland had literacy skills at SCQF Level 3 and below, while 31% of men and more than 28% of women (30% overall) had not progressed beyond SCQF Level 4. On the other hand, 61% of men and 64% of women (62% overall) had literacy skills at SCQF Level 5 or above.
The numeracy assessment revealed a significant gender divide, with 31% of men and 45% of women at SCQF Level 3 and below. A further 34% of men and 32% of women (33% overall) had numeracy skills at SCQF Level 4, compared with the 34% of men and 23% of women (29% overall) at SCQF Level 5 or higher.
Slightly more men and women living in Scotland's industrialised Central Belt performed at the higher end of the scale for both literacy and numeracy than those living in other parts of the country. Migration of highly skilled adults to the metropolitan areas of Scotland appears to account for much of this difference.
The overall performance of people who had moved to or from Scotland after birth - was much higher than that of those who had not moved. They were, for example, four times more likely than non-migrant men to have SCQF Levels 4 or higher literacy.
Men who had moved away from Scotland had the strongest skills of all, with more than 8 in 10 achieving SCQF Level 5 or above in literacy or numeracy. Among men born and still living in Scotland at the age of 34 and those who had moved to the country after birth, only 66% reached this level in literacy, and 33% in numeracy.
Conclusions
The latest BCS70 survey shows that a high proportion of 34-year-olds living in Scotland in 2004 had literacy and numeracy difficulties.
Men in Scotland had stronger numeracy skills than women, while slightly more men and women living in the Central Belt were at the higher end of the performance scales for both literacy and numeracy. This may reflect the larger number of job opportunities available in industrialised areas, rather than the inherent abilities of the population. Men who had moved away from Scotland had the strongest skills of all.
Scotland continues to export her highest qualified people
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