Addressing the issue of low numeracy

The significant influence of numeracy and mathematical literacy on life opportunities, wellbeing and societal productivity, as well as its role in facilitating active participation in civic and democratic processes, is clear.

Recent global studies on basic skills in teenagers and adults have produced deeply concerning results – the data from these studies indicate that individuals with the lowest levels of numeracy or mathematical literacy also tend to experience the poorest health outcomes, the lowest levels of life satisfaction and significantly reduced opportunities for economic and social progress. They are less likely to be employed, earn lower wages and encounter a range of other disadvantages.

Concerning data from global studies

In the 2022 international PISA survey, 31% of 15-year-olds showed Level 1 or below in mathematics proficiency, indicating that they can only solve straightforward problems presented in simple contexts, where all necessary information is explicitly provided, free from distractors and presented in an obvious and familiar manner.

The situation in Europe alone is only marginally better (28% of 15-year-olds). In broad terms, this means that approximately one in four young people struggle with mathematics, even when dealing with basic problems.

Adults (aged 16–65) who participated in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey performed somewhat better, though not significantly. In Europe, 24% of adults in this age range have also not progressed beyond Level 1 in numeracy.

At this level, adults exhibit similar limitations to those observed among 15-year-olds: they can solve problems where information about whole numbers, decimals, common fractions and percentages is explicitly provided in familiar and uncomplicated contexts, requiring only basic problem-solving strategies. They can typically interpret simple spatial representations, maps, tables or basic graphs, identify the most significant values in a list, and perform fundamental arithmetic operations. However, they struggle with more complex – and perhaps more realistic – numerical challenges.

Other studies, such as the Erasmus+ Numeracy in Practice (NiP) research project led by HU Utrecht and directed by Kees Hoogland, highlight the impact of numeracy levels on aspects of life including health, financial stability and the ability to critically assess information from diverse media sources. This is particularly relevant in the context of misinformation, such as fake news and malicious content, which can have detrimental consequences for society.

All of this presents significant, deep and complex challenges. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals objective to increase the development of basic numeracy and literacy skills will require collaboration between stakeholders including policymakers, educators, families and community members committed to supporting teaching and learning.

Researching solutions

How can this be achieved? Tackling these challenges requires implementing successful educational actions that have been shown to effectively improve learning outcomes and reduce educational inequalities.

Twenty years ago, a research team from the University of Barcelona conducted the INCLUD-ED study, recognised by the EU as one of the ten research projects funded by the 6th framework programme with the most significant social impact. It identified a series of successful educational actions (SEAs) that greatly enhanced pupil learning outcomes across primary and lower secondary levels of compulsory education.

A good example of an SEA is interactive groups, which are inclusive classroom organisation actions. Within each interactive group, an adult facilitator supports pupil collaboration to complete assigned tasks. This structure encourages peer-assisted learning: pupils with a better comprehension explain concepts to their peers, while those who find the material challenging receive targeted support.

The core principle of interactive groups is argumentation – pupils must articulate their reasoning, justify their answers and explain their thought processes to their peers (‘egalitarian dialogue’). This dialogic learning approach encourages different ways of representing, connecting and understanding mathematical concepts.

During an interactive action, the classroom is divided into four or five groups, each involved in different tasks related to the lesson. For example, in a geometry class, different groups may

• classify polygons
• verify Euler’s relation
• discuss why there are only five Platonic solids
• investigate tiling the plane by examining the sum of angles at an intersection point

Pupil learning is significantly accelerated as they rotate through four or five tasks during a session.

Research has shown that schools implementing interactive groups experience substantial improvements in learning outcomes for all pupils, with the greatest benefits observed among those in more vulnerable situations.

New strategies against learning inequalities

The same research group at the University of Barcelona, Community of Research on Excellence for All (CREA), is currently leading another European project, REVERS-ED. This initiative aims to identify further successful educational actions to counteract educational inequalities, enabling more individuals to progress beyond Level 1 in numeracy or mathematical literacy.

These efforts have the potential not only to empower individuals to achieve their dreams and aspirations but also to contribute to the overall enhancement of society by promoting stronger mathematical and numeracy skills for all.