Assessing and Monitoring Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills ...

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PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIATPIFS(10)FEDMM.13(a)FORUM EDUCATION MINISTERS’ MEETINGCrown Plaza Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea13-14 October 2010ASSESSING AND MONITORING LITERACY, NUMERACYAND LIFE SKILLS – PROGRESS REPORTA new role for assessment has however emerged recently. Assessment is being usedaround the developed world to „gear up‟ education systems in response to global changes.Economics drive the rhetoric: technological developments demand better educated, morethoughtful and flexible workers across the labour market, to strengthen the country‟stechnological base and to foster a spirit of enterprise and initiative. The apparentmismatch between the output of the schools and the needs of the labour market in the1980s, as indicated by the number of unqualified school leavers and by the number ofyoung unemployed in various countries suggested that education had departed from the„real world‟ of work. The result has been to seek to re-couple education with economy(Neave 1988). A key component in this role for assessment is the use of national andinternational testing programmes to monitor performance – and competitiveness.(Stobbart & Gipps 1997)PurposeThis paper provides an update to the status of the monitoring of literacy, numeracyand life skills in the region that was presented to the Education Ministers‟ Meeting held inTonga in March, 2009. The 2009 paper was part of the status report on the Monitoring andEvaluation initiatives, which is included as Attachment 1.Introduction2. Competency in literacy, numeracy and life skills need to be developed from an earlyage. These are essential if pupils are to secure the maximum benefit from a broad andbalanced school curriculum. Proficiency in literacy and numeracy is also essential if youngpeople are to fulfill their potential in their careers and as adult members of the community.The link between low basic skills and employment is well researched. Tertiary institutionsand employers alike, regularly bemoan the standards of literacy, numeracy and life skillsshown by students emerging from secondary level schooling to either enter the workplace orto pursue further study at tertiary level. Admittedly this is anecdotal evidence, but it isrepeated so often that there is likely to be more than a grain of truth in the claim. Clearly it is2
in the interests of all countries to maximize the potential of its citizens, and raising literacyand numeracy standards is one way of contributing towards that maximization.3. Within the Pacific context, with each country having its own language or set oflanguages, literacy should focus on both the development of skills in the vernacular and inEnglish which is perceived as the medium for regional communication.4. At a regional workshop in 2006, participants from the Pacific Island countries cameup with the following definitions for literacy, numeracy and life skills.“Knowledge and skills necessary to empower a person to communicate through any form oflanguage of their society, with respect to everyday life”(Pacific definition of Literacy)5. A person is considered to be functionally literate if she/he has acquired the necessaryknowledge and skills to be able to communicate effectively through any form of language oftheir society, with respect to everyday life.6. The literacy status of a person between the ages of 6 to 14 years will be determinednationally and regionally (if required) by referencing his/her literacy skills to the indicatoroutlined in the regional benchmarks. However, a person is considered to be functionallyliterate if he/she has completed four years of formal education and has met the indicatoroutlined for Year 4.“Knowledge and skills necessary to empower a person to be able to use numbers inmathematical processes, as well as the language of mathematics, for a variety of purposes,with respect to every day life”(Pacific definition of numeracy)7. A person considered to be functionally numerate is therefore someone who hasacquired the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to use numbers effectively inmathematical processes, as well as the language of mathematics, for a variety of purposes ineveryday life not only within the society he/she lives but beyond.8. The numeracy status of a person between the ages of 6 to 14 years will be determinednationally and regionally (if necessary) by referencing his/her numeracy skills to thebenchmarks. However, a person is considered to be functionally numerate if he/she hascompleted four years of formal education and has met the numeracy benchmark outlined forYear 4.“Practical knowledge, skills and behaviours which in conjunction with culturally rootedknowledge, attitudes and values, empower an individual to live a happy, healthy andproductive life in his or her community and beyond”(Pacific definition of Life skills)9. The Forum Leaders in their communiqué affirmed the 2010-2013 Pacific Planpriorities at the 41 st Pacific Islands Forum Meeting held in Port Vila from the 4 th – 5 thAugust, 2010. It is noteworthy that at this meeting, trends in literacy and numeracy werehighlighted by CROP executives „one of the five key issues in the Pacific Plan priorities; to3
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