Half of all respondents (51 per cent) held an English language GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above. This has remained unchanged from 2003. As with qualifications in general, older respondents were less likely to be qualified to this level (37 per cent of 55-65 year-olds
compared to 63 per cent of 16-19 year-olds). Results varied by gender, with men less likely to hold this qualification (48 per cent compared to 54 per cent of women). Respondents born outside of the UK were unsurprisingly less likely than average to hold this qualification (29 per cent).152
As would be expected, respondents who held an English Language GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above were more likely to be classified at Level 1 or above in literacy than those who did not (94 per cent versus 75 per cent) (Figure 7.6). However, it is interesting to note that six per cent of respondents who held this qualification achieved an Entry Level score. This
difference is evident across all age groups, so is unlikely to be a function of the time since the exam was taken or due to any changes in exam content or level. This mirrors the findings from 2003.
151 For full breakdowns see Appendix Table 7.A7. 152 See Appendix Table 7.A8.
Chapter 7: Education
Figure 7.6 Literacy Levels by whether hold English Language GCSE (or equivalent) at grades A*-C (%) 1 9 5 1 3 2 4 12 8 23 34 28 71 41 57 A*-C English Language Pass No A*-C English Language Pass All Respondents
Entry Level 1 or below Entry Level 2 Entry Level 3 Level 1 Level 2 or above Base:SfL2011 All aged 16-65 with literacy score (5824)
As discussed earlier (in Section 5.5.2), women tended to perform slightly better on the literacy assessment than men. This, however, does not hold true amongst men and women who hold an English Language (or equivalent) GCSE at grade C or above, with both performing at very similar standards.153
In comparison to 2003, the performance of those holding an A*-C English Language GCSE, mirrors the overall findings, with no change in the proportion of this group achieving Level 1 or above, an increase in the proportion reaching Level 2 or above, and a decrease in the proportion at Level 1. This is illustrated in Table 7.13.
153 See Appendix Table 7.A9.
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Table 7.13 Literacy Levels by whether hold English Language GCSE (or equivalent) at A*-C
2003 2011
All Holds English Language GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
Does NOT hold English Language
GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
All Holds English Language GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
Does NOT hold English Language
GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
% % % % % %
Entry Level 1 or below 3 * 7 5 1 9
Entry Level 2 2 * 4 2 1 3
Entry Level 3 11 4 18 8 4 12
Level 1 40 36 43 28 23 34
Level 2 or above 44 60 28 57 71 41
Entry Level 3 or below 16 5 29 15 6 25
Level 1 or above 84 95 71 85 94 75
Unweighted 7874 4007 3867 5824 2957 2867
Base: SfL2011 All aged 16-65 with literacy score / SfL2011 All aged 16-65 with literacy score
7.5.2 Maths GCSE
Just over four in ten (44 per cent) had achieved a GCSE (or equivalent) grade C or above in Maths; fewer than had achieved the same qualification in English Language. In line with English Language and the equivalent findings in 2003, holding a Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above varied by age, with older respondents less likely to be qualified at this level (28 per cent of 55-65 year-olds versus 60 per cent of 16-19 year-olds). This variation is, however, more
marked in Maths than in English Language: there is a difference of 32 percentage points between the proportion of 16-19 year-olds and 55-65 year-olds who hold the qualification in Maths, compared to 25 percentage points in English Language.154
Unlike holding an English Language GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above, there were no differences between the proportions of men and women holding a Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at this level. This is a change from 2003, where a difference between genders was evident (45 per cent of men compared with 39 per cent of women).155
Unsurprisingly, respondents qualified to this level tended to perform at a higher standard on the numeracy assessment; 89 per cent of those holding this qualification achieved an Entry Level 3 or above numeracy score, compared to 66 per cent of those who did not hold this qualification. However, it is possible to hold a Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above, but perform at a lower standard on the numeracy assessment; as illustrated in Figure 7.7, one in ten (11 per cent) of these respondents failed to reach Entry Level 3 or above.
154 See Appendix Table 7.A10. 155 See Appendix Table 7.A10.
Chapter 7: Education
Figure 7.7 Numeracy Levels by whether hold Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grades A*-C (%) 2 11 7 9 23 17 20 30 25 35 24 29 34 12 22
A*-C Maths Pass No A*-C Maths Pass All Respondents
Entry Level 1 or below Entry Level 2 Entry Level 3 Level 1 Level 2 or above Base: SfL2011 All aged 16-65 numeracy scores (5823)
Mirroring the pattern from 2003, amongst respondents who held a Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above there were found to be differences in numeracy performance by age.
Respondents aged below 25 with a Maths GCSE at grade C or above tended to achieve a lower score on the numeracy assessment than similarly qualified respondents aged 25 or over (84 per cent of those aged under 25 achieved Entry Level 3 or above, compared to 91 per cent of those 25 or over).156
Table 7.14 illustrates the performance of those holding a Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C or above between 2003 and 2011. The performance of this group has declined, from 94 per cent achieving Entry Level 3 or above in 2003 to 89 per cent in 2011. This is primarily driven by a drop in the proportion of respondents achieving Level 2 or above (from 43 per cent in 2003 to 34 per cent 2011), with the proportion at Level 1 remaining relatively unchanged. Whilst this pattern mirrors that of all respondents, the drop in performance is larger amongst those with a Maths (or equivalent pass) GCSE at grade C or above; a drop of nine percentage points at Level 2 or above, compared to a drop of four percentage points amongst all respondents.
156 See Appendix Table 7.A11.
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Table 7.14 Numeracy Levels by whether hold Maths GCSE (or equivalent) at A*-C
2003 2011
All Holds Maths GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
Does NOT hold Maths GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
All Holds Maths GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
Does NOT hold Maths GCSE A*-C (or equivalent)
% % % % % %
Entry Level 1 or below 5 1 9 7 2 11
Entry Level 2 16 5 24 17 9 23
Entry Level 3 25 18 31 25 20 30
Level 1 28 33 24 29 35 24
Level 2 or above 25 43 13 22 34 12
Entry Level 2 or below 21 6 33 24 11 34
Entry Level 3 or above 79 94 67 76 89 66
Unweighted 8040 3267 4773 5823 2481 3342
Base: SfL2003 All aged 16-65 with numeracy scores / SfL2011 All aged 16-65 with numeracy scores