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Education Minister Ruairi Quinn today launched the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The strategy,

, is designed to improve literacy and numeracy among children and young people and is a key pillar of the Programme for Government.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Quinn said...

It is the government’s belief that no child should leave school unable to read and write and use mathematics to solve problems. We know that there is currently much room for improvement and this strategy sets out the road map with concrete targets and reforms that will ensure our children, from early childhood to the end of second level, master these key skills.

The aims of the strategy include:

• At primary level, increasing the number of children performing at Level 3 or above (the highest levels) in the national assessments of reading and mathematics by 5 percentage points
• Reducing the percentage performing at or below the lowest level (Level 1) by 5 percentage points
• At post-primary level, increasing the number of 15-year old students performing at Level 4 or above (the highest levels) in the OECD’s PISA test of literacy and mathematics by at least 5 percentage points
• Halve the numbers performing at Level 1 (the lowest level) in PISA test of literacy and mathematics
• Improve early childhood education and public attitudes to reading and mathematics.

The Strategy aims to ensure that teachers and schools maintain a strong focus on literacy and numeracy skills, within a broad and balanced curriculum. It sets out a wide-ranging programme of reforms in initial teacher education courses, in professional development for teachers and school principals, and in the content of the curriculum at primary and post-primary levels in order to achieve these vital skills.

Schools will make greater use of standardised tests of reading and mathematics, in second and sixth class in primary and introduce these tests for 2nd year students in post-primary.  They will report the findings to parents, boards of management and the Department of Education and Skills. Schools will be required to develop and implement school improvement plans in accordance with guidance from the Department’s Inspectorate

The Minister said...

This is an issue of equality.  Without the skills of literacy and numeracy, a young person or adult is often denied full participation in society.  They may be condemned to poorly paid jobs or unemployment and a lifetime of poverty and exclusion.  This is why I am convinced that ensuring all our young people acquire good literacy and numeracy skills is one of the greatest contributions that we can make towards achieving equality and social justice in our country.

You can view Minister Quinn's comments at the launch below...