David Cameron was quick to peddle a statistic on GMTV this morning when he said that "half of all pupils at age eleven are unable to read, write and add up properly".
Interestingly, having looked at the statistics, is is quite clear that David Cameron has completely made up these figures.
For 2006, the last set of full results I was able to find, statistics show that just 20% of fail to achieve the correct standard in reading and writing (English) whilst in maths, the number failing to meet the required standard at age eleven is 23%.
Now if these pupils were all different from each other, in effect meaning that the 20% who fail to meet the level 4 standard in english are not the same children who make up the 23% who fail to reach level four in numeracy, this would only mean that 43% of children were not meeting the standard. However, as anyone with any sense knows, a large number of these children "overlap" meaning they fail both.
I'm afraid, by bandying around bogus statement which simply tell lies, David Cameron is doing a disservice to pupils and those professionals at all levels who work in education.
David Cameron needs to explain who made up these statistics, why he chooses to lie on national TV and offer an apology for spreading bogus and uninformed drivel.
As it is, David Cameron has proved conclusively that he and the Conservatives are the ones who cannot add up.
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