Posted: Friday 10 October 2008
What exactly is numeracy?
The educational establishment is currently responding to a consultation on the future shape of the exam system in Scotland, with particular emphasis on S4. The present ‘mixed economy' of Standard Grade and/or Intermediate 2 exams - plus bypass in our case - is widely seen as muddled and confusing. One of the proposals is therefore to sweep away both of these exams and replace them with something which combines the best elements of both. I don't see many people arguing against that in principle, but until teachers have more concrete details of what will be in the exams, subject by subject, then it's difficult to be more than cautiously supportive.
Another more radical proposal is to introduce separate numeracy and literacy tests at S4. There is a clear political imperative to this - everyone can agree that national standards in these two areas should be improved - and testing would hopefully provide evidence of improvement year on year. But I have a problem with it. For one thing, numeracy and literacy are embedded in most school subjects - maths and English obviously, but all the others as well. Isn't it a bit artificial to separate them out? But also, how exactly would they be tested?
Being a maths teacher I have tended to think more about the proposed numeracy test. I have a horrible suspicion that by ‘numeracy' the Government is thinking ‘arithmetic'. Now there is nothing wrong with raising standards in basic arithmetic, I sat the old ‘O' Grade Arithmetic myself and I don't think it did me any harm... cue nervous twitching... but surely ‘numeracy' is a slightly more subtle concept than being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals and fractions?
I have been trying to imagine what questions we might find in a true test of numeracy. So far, I haven't come up with much, but how about these? -
What happens when you divide 12 by a fifth?
A) it gets smaller B) it gets bigger C) you can't do that
A shop is giving 22% discount on a bed costing £475. Roughly how much do you save?
A) £40 B) £100 C) £200
What volume of water does a full bath hold?
A) several gallons B) several litres C) several kilograms
In each case you don't actually have to work anything out, you just have to have a rough understanding of what the answer should be.
Backing me up on this, the UK Department for Energy and Skills defines numeracy thus: Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in mathematics but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts.
Would a written test of this sort of skill be worthwhile? What proportion of pupils nationally would have to pass it in order to make the overall results semi-respectable? I fear the questions would have to be a lot easier than my examples above. It would then cease to be a worthwhile exercise for Hutchie pupils, all of whom can sit and pass suitable S4 exams in maths, which by definition demands numeracy. I have heard a government representative say that it's possible to pass Higher maths without being numerate - I think that is dangerously muddled thinking.
In the national context the cost of failing could be great. Failing Standard Grade maths can be passed off with a shrug and ‘I was never any good at maths'. Failing a numeracy test would mean you were ‘innumerate'. Would failing the literacy test also mean you were illiterate?
We are preparing the school's own response to the consultation but you might like to look at the whole set of proposals yourself.