Decline in numeracy levels between primary and secondary

The results of the first-ever Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) showed that about 76 per cent of P4 pupils and about 72 per cent of P7 were performing well or very well in numeracy.

However, there was a marked decline among children in S2, with just 42 per cent of pupils performing well or very well at that level.

The findings were published today by the Scottish Government as part of the first ever national survey of primary and secondary pupils’ numeracy skills.

The percentage of pupils not yet working within their respective levels in numeracy was less than one per cent in P4, about two per cent in P7 and about 32 per cent in S2.

Education secretary Mike Russell said: “Given that we have deliberately raised the bar with Curriculum for Excellence – with high standards expected at each level, the strong performance of primary pupils in maths and numeracy is hugely encouraging. It provides a clear picture that, alongside Scotland’s teachers’ unwavering commitment, learning and teaching under Curriculum for Excellence is improving life chances for our children and young people.

“A common and historic trend is for performance to dip between mid and upper primary and then dip again in early secondary. So it is particularly welcoming to see the high performance in P4 maintained through to P7 under Curriculum for Excellence.

“However, this high performance must also be sustained and improved through to secondary. The performance results taken from S2, who were the last cohort of pupils not to benefit from Curriculum for Excellence, shows that more is needed and the link between deprivation and attainment remains too strong.”

More than 5,000 teachers and 11,000 pupils took part in SSLN, which is a sample survey conducted in May last year.

The survey results published today relate to numeracy. The 2012 survey will focus on literacy, with the results published in 2013.