Numeracy Skills Resources

Numeracy Skills Levels 1 - 5

The core skill of Numeracy recognises the following:

Numeracy is about using mathematics to make sense of the world. Numeracy assists in dealing with situations that involve the use and application of a range of mathematical skills and knowledge which arise in workplace, personal, training and community settings.

Whilst numeracy necessarily involves understanding and applying mathematical ideas and techniques, it also involves drawing on knowledge of particular contexts and circumstances in deciding when to use mathematics, choosing the appropriate mathematics to use, reflecting on and evaluating its use, and then communicating about the outcomes.

Numeracy outcomes at Level 1
Locates and recognises key mathematical information in simple activities or texts
Uses simple mathematical and personal problem-solving strategies in highly familiar contexts
Uses everyday informal oral language or highly familiar written representation to communicate simple mathematical information

Numeracy outcomes at Level 2
Identifies and comprehends relevant mathematical information in familiar activities or texts
Selects and uses appropriate familiar mathematical problem-solving strategies to solve problems in familiar contexts
Uses informal and some formal oral and written mathematical language and representation to communicate mathematically

Numeracy outcomes at Level 3
Selects and interprets mathematical information that may be partly embedded in a range of familiar and some less familiar tasks and texts
Selects from and uses a variety of developing mathematical and problem-solving strategies in a range of familiar and some less familiar contexts
Uses a combination of both informal and formal oral and written mathematical language and representation to communicate mathematically

Numeracy outcomes at Level 4
Extracts and evaluates the mathematical information embedded in a range of tasks and texts
Selects from and applies an expanding range of mathematical and problem-solving strategies in a range of contexts
Uses a range of informal and formal oral and written mathematical language and representation to communicate mathematically

Numeracy outcomes at Level 5
Analyses and synthesises highly embedded mathematical information in a broad range of tasks and texts
Selects from and flexibly applies a wide range of highly developed mathematical and problem-solving strategies and techniques in a broad range of contexts
Uses a wide range of mainly formal, and some informal, oral and written mathematical language and representation to communicate mathematically