Young people in England are the most illiterate in the developed world with many students graduating with only a basic grasp of English and maths, an in-depth analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has found.
The OECD report rated English teenagers aged 16 to 19 the worst of 23 developed nations in literacy and 22nd of 23 in numeracy. In contrast, pensioners or those close to retirement were among the highest-ranked of their age group.
England had nine million people of working age with low literacy or numeracy skills, it said.
The number of low-skilled people aged 16 to 19 was three times higher than in top-performing countries such as Finland, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands. South Korea came top of the list for literacy — assessed by the ability to read and answer questions on a text — and numeracy.
The report, based on 2012 data, said although half a million students had started degrees last autumn, money would be better spent cutting the number of undergraduates and investing in basic education.
About one in five young university graduates could manage basic tasks, but struggled with more complex problems. The report concluded: "University teaching gives limited attention to low levels of literacy and numeracy. Graduates with low basic skills gain modest returns from their qualifications and will often not be able to repay their student debts. England has a large university system relative to a poorly skilled pool of potential entrants."
The study concluded that 7% of 20 to 34-year-old graduates in England have numeracy skills below level two, while 3.4% have literacy skills below this level. This means that they struggle to estimate how much petrol is left in a tank from looking at the gauge, or have difficulty understanding instructions on an aspirin bottle.
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It seems that our brothers across the Ocean have the lowest literacy rate in the developed World. Perhaps if they spent less time drinking tea and making child sacrifices to the Queen; and converted to superior American English, they'd be able to speak better. What with America's removal of the inferior and decadent letter U from our words and our simple and superior names for things like elevators, it should be no wonder that the average English child can't figure out how much "Gasoline" is left in a tank or struggle with Aspirin bottles. Altogether, I'm thoroughly disappointed in the UK, which should lead the anglosphere. Once again, America will have to pick up the Englishman's slack just like we did in WWI and WWII. Don't worry, we'll also help import superior American culture to fight against these chav's that you seem to be having problems with.
All hail America, better than the UK. Especially better than Wales.
