By Michelle Miller, AIWC Cologne and Education Team Co-Chair
In October, the Education Team continues our focus on literacy and numeracy. Since the Roundup considered the former last month, we’ll take a look at the latter this month. Numeracy refers to the ability to understand and work with numbers. This extends from simple tasks, such as being able to tell time, to more complex activities, such as reading a train schedule. We may not think of numeracy as much as we do literacy, but we need both sets of skills in everyday life. So how is the world doing on numeracy?
- In a comprehensive study completed in 2012, Japan had the highest numeracy rates in the world, followed by Finland. The United States placed 22nd, below the international average. Source: “Literacy, Numeracy, and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments Among U.S. Adults: Results from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2012,” Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, or PIAAC, National Center for Education Statistics.
- But do numeracy skills really matter as much as literacy skills? Absolutely, as low numeracy skills are associated with low rates of financial health around the world. Financial Well-Being.
- And it’s not just the individual with poor numeracy skills who suffers. One study looking at Global Trends in Numeracy discovered that numeracy was strongly correlated to worldwide financial growth. Thus, it would be highly advantageous for the world to work hard not just to improve literacy rates, but to enhance numeracy skills as well.
