HL Deb 03 June 1997 vol 580 cc21-2WA
Lord Lucas

asked Her Majesty's Government:

By what measure "nearly half of 11 year olds in England and Wales fail to reach expected standards in English and Maths" (to quote from the Labour Party manifesto); on what data that measure is based and by what means it may be derived therefrom; whether it is by that measure that progress towards the achievement of the manifesto target that "within a decade every child leaves primary school with a reading age of at least 11 may be judged; and whether that measure and target apply also to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Baroness Blackstone

In the 1996 national curriculum tests, 42 per cent. and 46 per cent. of 11 year olds did not meet Level 4—the expected level for their age—in English and mathematics respectively. The target announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment was that by the year 2002, 75 per cent. of 11 year olds in these tests in mathematics and 80 per cent. in English will reach Level 4. Separate task forces in literacy and numeracy have been established to boost standards in primary schools. The targets apply to England and Wales.