On average, one of four Slovenian citizens in the age group between 16 and 65 has poor skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving, which is a substantially higher share than in other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the study.

Of the participants, 5.6 percent scored in the highest – the fourth or the fifth – level of literacy, while the average across all the participating nations was 10.6 percent. The fourth level means that the individual is able to combine, explain, and reject information from long or complex passages that contain interdependent and – in some cases – contradictory information.
Almost a fourth of the participants, 24.9 percent, scored in the first level for literacy, which means that they are able to read short passages about familiar subjects and find specific information within them. The average percentage of those scoring in the first level across all nations was 18.9 percent of participants.

In numeracy, 8.6 percent of all participants finished in the fourth or the fifth level, while the average was 11.3 percent. The fourth level in numeracy is defined as the individual’s understanding of a wide range of math problems, which can be complex, abstract, or devoid of familiar context.

Basic mathematical procedures
Meanwhile, 25.8 of the respondents scored in the first level, whereas the average across all nations was 22.7 percent. People with this level of knowledge can solve basic math problems in specific contexts.

Al. Ma.
Translated by J.B.