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CHAPTER FIVE DO SCHOOLS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Previous research has shown that children's attainment in the early years of schooling is closely related to the literacy and numeracy levels they reach as adults. By comparing survey participants' test results at the ages of 5 and 10 with their adult literacy and numeracy assessments, we were able to determine the strength of this relationship in Scotland.
Performance in the early years of schooling
We found that adults with the poorest literacy and numeracy had struggled at the very first stage of their formal education. Those assessed as having SCQF Level 2 or 3 in literacy and numeracy at 34 had gained the lowest scores in tests measuring their language development and visual-motor co-ordination at the age of 5. Adults with skills at SCQF Level 5 or above had achieved the highest test scores as 5-year-olds.
The gap between the highest and lowest performers grew wider between the ages of 5 and 10. This indicates that the earlier difficulties are spotted and remedial action taken, the more likely it is that literacy and numeracy difficulties in adulthood can be prevented, or at least minimised.
Identifying difficulties
At the age of 5, 33% of all BCS70 cohort members were reported by their mothers as not being able to read at all, but the figure for Scotland was a massive 73%. An even larger proportion - 83% - of those who grew up to have SCQF Level 2 or 3 literacy had been unable to read at age 5, according to their mothers.
However, parents' awareness of their children's difficulties appears to fall over time. By the time cohort members were 10, only around half of parents of those who grew up to have literacy and numeracy skills at or below SCQF Level 3 thought their children did not have any problems - which could hardly have been the case
Judging by the amount of learning support children received at school, teachers as well as parents do not always spot when pupils are experiencing difficulties with their learning. Just 28% of adults with SCQF Level 2 or 3 literacy and 21% of those with SCQF Level 2 numeracy had received any remedial help with their reading, while only around 10% had received help with their maths at the age of 10.
Pre-school education
Adults with the poorest literacy were the least likely to have attended a play group or nursery before starting school. Over 80% of BCS70 cohort members living in Scotland who went on to develop SCQF Level 5 or higher literacy skills had formal pre-school experiences, compared to less than half (47%) of those with SCQF Level 2 or 3 literacy.
Differences were less extreme but still apparent between adults in different numeracy skills groups.
School characteristics
In comparison to adults with SCQF Level 5 or higher literacy, those with SCQF Level 2 or 3 literacy were more likely to have gone to a school with a high proportion of children whose fathers worked in semi-skilled manual jobs (45% to 30%).
Differences in school intake were also reflected in the higher proportion of children from council estates or overcrowded accommodation in schools that adults with poor literacy and numeracy had attended (68% SCQF Level 2 or 3 literacy, compared to 57% of those with SCQF Level 5 or higher literacy)
Conclusions
Adults with the weakest grasp of literacy were the least likely to have had any formal pre-school education. By the age of 5, they were already falling behind those who went on to develop SCQF Levels 4 and 5 skills. By the age of 10, the gap had widened.
When cohort members were age 10, their teachers had been more likely to identify pupils performing poorly as having limited general knowledge than having a specific reading, writing or number difficulty.
Adults with the lowest levels of literacy and numeracy skills tended to have gone to schools with children from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds.
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