§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the level of illiteracy among secondary school leavers.
§ Mrs. Thatcher"Illiteracy" cannot be exactly defined. The surveys commissioned by the Department have been in terms of the general level of reading ability of pupils aged 15, and also of pupils aged 11. The improvement in standards since 1948 is described in the Department's pamphlet "Progress in Reading". The results of the latest survey, being carried out by the National Foundation for Education Research, will be available later this year.