1. Numerical Ability Study August 2010 Prepared by Velma Burns and Anne-Marie Flynn 41110269

2. 2. Presentation Content Introduction Research Method The Findings 1.Feelings about maths and when used 2.Answers to primary school maths questions Percentage calculation Area calculation Multiplication & Addition Division Visual interpretation of bar chart 3.Summary of overall performance Conclusions

3. 3. Overall Objectives & Research Method This presentation reviews the findings of a survey carried out by Millward Brown Lansdowne on behalf of the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA). The main objective of this study was to ascertain how numerically literate the public is, by asking a series of primary school level maths questions unaided (i.e. no calculator). Examples of real life scenarios were included in order to make the questions as life like as possible. Research Method  A questionnaire was developed between Millward Brown Lansdowne and NALA. The questionnaire was included on the Millward Brown Lansdowne Omnibus Survey.  The Omnibus is a face-to-face, in-home survey asked of a representative sample of adults aged 15+ years living in the Republic of Ireland.  The sample is quota controlled in terms of gender, age, social class and region, to reflect the actual demographics of the adult population.  Interviews were conducted at 64 sampling, representative of the size and spread of urban and rural localities nationwide.  Sample size: 1,010  Fieldwork dates: 23 rd July – 7 th August 2010

4. 4. Who likes doing maths and who doesn’t? YES NO % Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Don’t know/ Not specified Higher among: AB’s77% Student/ at school75% 3 rd level education72% C1’s70% Higher among: Primary education53% DE’s48% 65+ years47% Unemployed47% Farmers46% Working in home43%

5. 5. When maths used in day-to-day life When do you do maths in your day to day life? Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) % At home At work When buying groceries /other shopping When paying bills In restaurants/cafes School/college/homework With my kids Other Never Higher Among: Don’t like doing maths 20% 65+ yrs 17% Primary education 16% Farmers 15% DE’s 10% Higher Among: 35-49 yrs 48% Rural 49% Parents 48% Higher Among: 43% of ABC1’s

6. 6. Q.An MP3 player costs €200 plus 21% value added tax (VAT). What is the total cost of the MP3 player? Answer = €242 Correct Incorrect Don’t know/ no reply %  – Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Task: Percentage Calculation How much does MP3 player cost including VAT at 21%? Incorrect answers given 221 (11%) 220 (6%) 240 (3%)

7. 7. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % Correct 56635056 674762385267616739 Incorrect 34303934 293929403829263042 Don’t know/ no reply 971210941492210414419 Response across key groups (percentage calculation mp3 player) An MP3 player costs €200 plus 21% value added tax (VAT). What is the total cost of the MP3 player? Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Men outperform women ABC1’s do better than C2DE’s Accuracy increases with level of formal education. Those who finished education at primary level do worst overall Enjoyment of and competence in maths are closely linked. 6 in 10 of those who don’t like maths either don’t know the answer or gave an incorrect answer Men outperform women ABC1’s do better than C2DE’s Accuracy increases with level of formal education. Those who finished education at primary level do worst overall Enjoyment of and competence in maths are closely linked. 6 in 10 of those who don’t like maths either don’t know the answer or gave an incorrect answer

8. 8. Task: Area Calculation of Rectangular Field Answer = €300m 2 Correct Incorrect Don’t know/ no reply %  – Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Incorrect answers given 150m 2 (10%) 70m 2 (7%) 35m 2 (7%) Q.Which of the answers listed on this card corresponds to the area of this rectangular field?

9. 9. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % Correct 5662505953694650235073636834 Incorrect 2423252722182827372517271933 Don’t know/ no reply 2015251325132623402510 1333 Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Performance across key groups – Area Calculation of Rectangular Field Which of the answers listed on this card corresponds to the area of this rectangular field? Men, under 35’s, ABC1’s most likely to get the answer right Accuracy increases with level of formal education Enjoyment of and competence in maths are closely linked. Two thirds of those who don’t like maths either don’t know the answer or gave an incorrect answer Men, under 35’s, ABC1’s most likely to get the answer right Accuracy increases with level of formal education Enjoyment of and competence in maths are closely linked. Two thirds of those who don’t like maths either don’t know the answer or gave an incorrect answer

10. 10. Answer = 48 Correct Incorrect Don’t know/ no reply %  – Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Task: Number of coke bottles in tray (addition/multiplication) Incorrect answers given 36 (4%) 24 (3%) 40 (2%) 30 (1%) Q.In total, how many bottles are in the two full cases?

11. 11. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % Correct 8384818780877889678188 73 Incorrect 1615171218122011311612 23 Don’t know/ no reply 1121212-23---3 Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Response across key groups - Number of coke bottles in tray. In total, how many bottles are in the two full cases? Under 35’s, ABC1’s and farmers most likely to get the answer right Accuracy increases with level of formal education One third of those leaving school at primary level gave wrong answer Under 35’s, ABC1’s and farmers most likely to get the answer right Accuracy increases with level of formal education One third of those leaving school at primary level gave wrong answer

12. 12. Answer = 36 Correct* Incorrect Don’t know/ no reply %  – Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Task: Visual based calculation. How much petrol remains in tank? Incorrect answers given 32 (3%) 40 (3%) 35 (2%) ‘Absolutely’ correct: 67% Q.The petrol tank in this car holds 48 litres. About how many litres of petrol remain in the tank? You can assume that the gas gauge is accurate. *Note: responses within +/-3 deemed to be correct. ‘Absolutely correct’ reflects exact answer of 36.

13. 13. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % ‘Absolutely’ Correct 6772636867756166516478627947 Correct 7379677473826677597184668357 Incorrect 191523201816221721 14281429 Don’t know/ no reply 851069212619936414 Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Response across key groups – how much petrol remains in the tank? The petrol tank in this car holds 48 litres. About how many litres of petrol remain in the tank? You can assume that the gas gauge is accurate. Men, ABC1’s, those with 3 rd level education and those who like maths are most likely to get the answer right

14. 14. Answer = No Correct Incorrect Don’t know %  – The graph is confusing ? Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Task: Interpretation of graph Q. A TV reporter showed this graph and said: “This graph shows that there has been a huge increase in robberies from 1998 to1999.” Do you consider the reporter’s statement to be a reasonable interpretation of the graph?

15. 15. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % Correct 3235303432442619142943363725 Incorrect 53525453 485563645449505648 Don’t know/ no reply 77878591217849414 Graph is confusing 7686831066955314 Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Do you consider the reporter’s statement to be a reasonable interpretation of the graph? Response across key groups (interpretation of graph) ABC1’s and those with 3 rd level education most likely to correctly interpret graph. Farmers and those who finished school at primary level most likely to misinterpret. Some maths enthusiasts also fall into trap of misinterpretation ABC1’s and those with 3 rd level education most likely to correctly interpret graph. Farmers and those who finished school at primary level most likely to misinterpret. Some maths enthusiasts also fall into trap of misinterpretation

16. 16. Answer = Pack A Correct Incorrect Don’t know % Pack A Pack B  – Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Task: Division. Which is better value? Q.Which do you think is better value – pack A or pack B?

17. 17. Response across key groups (division) GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS? Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % Correct7678757875837264617484778266 Incorrect1716171518131822241812161519 Don’t know/ no reply 768783914158472 Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Which do you think is better value – pack A or pack B? ABC1’s, those with 3 rd level education and those who like maths most likely to get the answer right ABC1’s, those with 3 rd level education and those who like maths most likely to get the answer right

18. 18. Which question posed the greatest difficulty and which was the easiest? Number of coke bottles Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) Best value pack A of films Adding VAT to cost of mp3 player Number of litres in petrol tank Area of rectangular field Interpretation of bar chart Task % correct answer Everyday situations driving accuracy of response? Less familiar tasks?

19. 19. How did the public fare overall? A (6/6) Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) B (5/6) D(3/6) C (4/6) E (2/6) F (1/6) NG (0/6) Overall Grade Six in ten adults got at least 4 correct answers, roughly equivalent to a grade A, B, or C %

20. 20. GENDERAGESOCIAL CLASSFINISHED EDUCATIONLIKE MATHS Grade Total (1010) % Male (502) % Female (508) % <35 (370) % 35+ (640) % ABC1 (451) % C2DE (507) % F (52) % Primary (94) % Secondary (506) % 3 rd level (324) % Student/ at school (86) % Yes (644) % No (362) % A 1519121615241063122319207 B 2729242925332225142533293316 C 20192119201819311521 162117 D 1311161413111512201410131117 E 121112 11714 181389818 F 97106 4127228510614 NG 5365527497*3111 Overall performance across key groups. Men, ABC1’s and those with 3 rd level education or still in education most likely to score an A or a B Base: all adults aged 15+ (1010) C2DE’s and those who left school at primary level have lower levels of numerical ability overall.

21. 21. Summary & Conclusions The public acknowledge that doing maths forms an integral part of day-to-day life, spanning work & home life, shopping and budgeting. Fewer than one in ten adults say they ‘never’ do maths. Despite the need for numeracy skills in everyday life, just over 6 in 10 adults say they like doing maths, leaving a significant third of adults who don’t enjoy doing maths. One in five of those who don’t like maths claim to ‘never’ do maths, perhaps suggesting a cycle of avoidance based on lack of competence and/or confidence. Six in ten adults correctly answer at least four of the six primary school maths questions asked of the general public in this study. Education level emerges as the strongest factor determining correct responses among the public. This research shows that those who leave formal education at primary level are most likely to struggle with numeracy, and those completing third level education are most at ease. Social grade also determines numerical ability, as ABC1 are much more likely than C2DE’s to get the answers right. Farmers score somewhere in between both groups. Men perform better than women overall, but age does not appear to be a strong factor determining numerical ability. Questions that involve very day-to-day practical calculations that may be encountered in the supermarket – e.g. number of coke bottles in tray, best value calculation for product packs – are more likely to be correctly answered than less common scenarios such as area calculation and adding VAT to a price. ******** Overall this research highlights that two distinct sub-groups of the population – those who left school at primary level and C2DE’s – have lower levels of numeracy skills overall and may require specific help and encouragement to allow them to function effectively when faced with everyday numerical challenges.

22. For further information, please contact: Velma Burns, Associate Director Anne-Marie Flynn, Senior Research Executive Millward Brown Lansdowne, Tel (01) 2974500 Velma.Burns@millwardbrownlasdowne.ie Annemarie.Flynn@millwardbrownlansdowne.ie Velma.Burns@millwardbrownlasdowne.ie Annemarie.Flynn@millwardbrownlansdowne.ie 41110269