§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for education and Science what is his estimate of the number of school-leavers in 1991 who are functionally illiterate.
§ Mr. EggarInformation is not available in the form and for the year requested, nor is there a standard definition of literacy. However, the proportion of all school leavers who obtained either O level grades A-C or CSE level 1, or latterly GCSE grades A-C, in English has increased progressively in recent years.
The Government have been to it that, as part of the 1988 education Act, the attainments of all pupils will be rigorously assessed at the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16. These assessments will provide, for the first time, information on the performance of all pupils throughout their school careers in English and in other subjects, and will give us a better picture of literacy standards.