Scottish students lag in basic literacy and numeracy

Tens of thousands of school pupils in Scotland are failing to master basic literacy and numeracy skills by the age of 14, according to new figures. Standards in either reading, writing or numeracy fell in more than half of local authorities last year. The figures are based on assessments made by each local authority as to whether pupils have achieved basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy set by the Scottish Executive. The results show that in 17 of the 30 local authorities that provided data, standards in at least one of the three subjects declined. In five local authorities, standards declined in two of the three subjects. In one council standards declined in all three areas. Read more at Scotsman.com and look for readers’ comments at the end of the article.