§ Sir J. Pitmanasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will re-publish the figures for reading
PUPILS AGED FIFTEEN Category Description Score Range Percentage 1948 1952 1956 1961 A … … Superior … … 35–31 9 9 9 14 B … … Average + … … 30–23 34 39 43 53 C … … Average - … … 22–18 27 22 23 17 D … … Backward … … 17–9 24 25 21 14 E … … Semi-literate … … 8–3 5 4 4 2 F … … Illiterate … … 2–0 1 1 0 0 Total … … 35–0 100 100 100 100
§ Sir J. Pitmanasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the particular English sentences or words in the tests given to 15-year-old children in each of the tests in 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1961 which could not be read by the backward readers, and were thus the dividing line between the classifications of Average Minus and Backward.
§ Mr. HoggThe test is at present being used for a further survey commissioned by the Central Advisory Council under the Chairmanship of Lady Plowden. To publish it or extracts from it would impair its validity for
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COMPARISON OF REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT—MAY, 1951 AND MAY, 1964 Region Number unemployed May, 1951 Number unemployed May, 1964 Increase (+) or decrease (-) Percentage increase (+) or decrease (-) Northern … … … 24,287 43,072 +18,785 +77 Yorkshire and Lincolnshire … … … 14,626 27,332 +12,706 +87 Eastern and Southern … … … 17,989 26,733 +8,744 +49 London and South Eastern … … … 36,255 55,406 +19,151 +53 South Western … … … 11,324 18,504 +7,180 +63 Wales … … … 22,739 22,666 -73 — Midlands … … … 10,624 33,454 +22,830 +215 North Western … … … 31,478 62,796 +31,318 +100 Scotland … … … 46,360 79,140 +32,780 +71 ability for 15-year-old boys and girls in the same form as that in paragraph 23 on page 8 of the publication entitled Standards of Reading 1948–1956, but including also the figures of the results of the similar tests conducted in 1961 and published in the Report entitled Half our Future, adjusted to comparability.
§ Mr. HoggThe figures requested are given in the following table:
this purpose and others to which it might be put in the future. I am writing to my hon. Friend.