§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his assessment of the scale of improvements in numeracy and literacy in schools in Wales in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [68355]
§ Mr. HainAs the following table illustrates there has been an underlying improvement in the standards achieved in English, Welsh and mathematics. In all cases we are well on course to achieve the targets we have set for 2000 and 2002. Without exception we have already started making inroads into the year 2000 targets.
Percentage of pupils achieving the expected level1 Key Stage 1 (7-year-olds) Key Stage 2 (11-year-olds) Key Stage 3 (14-year-olds) English 1996 78 56 56 1997 80 64 59 1998 80 64 62 Welsh 1996 83 54 69 1997 85 56 69 1998 86 65 71 Mathematics 1996 82 56 55 1997 83 64 59 1998 84 61 60 1 Level 2 for 7-year-olds; level 4 for 1l-year-olds; and level 5 for 14-year-olds Targets: By 2000 between 60 and 70 per cent. of 11 and 14-year-olds should achieve the level expected for their age. By 2002 the target is between 70 and 80 per cent. achieving the expected levels.
In future this will become the responsibility of the National Assembly.