Literacy and Numeracy

The International Association for the Advancement of Educational Achievement released the 2006 assessment of current world educational standards (http://www.iea.nl/pirls20060.html). The top performers are Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore; importantly, these nations link literacy with numeracy. For example, math problems are comprehensive:

Basil, who is older than Peter by one year minus one day, was born on January 1, 2002. What is the date of Peter's birthday?
a) January 2, 2003 b) January 2, 2001 c) December 31, 2000 d) December 31, 2002 e) December 31, 2003
(sample taken from Math Kangaroo, International Contest, Canada 2007)

Children need to read for math and understand the logic of the question. The answer to the above question, for example, is (d); Basil is older by 1 year: January 1, 2003; less a day: December 31, 2002. Peter's birthday is December 31, 2002.

While reading is improving in North America, for the sake of this particular blog, Canada and the United States are linked, there is concern about comprehension. The need to understand the logic of thought and mechanics of grammar are of concern to many. The New York Times recently had an article about such worries: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/education/25reading.html?hpw The article elaborates about the concern and briefly mentions the fact math marks have noticeably improved. However, knowing Russian and Singapore grades are dependent on literacy, the validity of those math marks could be open to question. Or, the current curriculum may not be up to international standards. Considering neither Canada or the United States made the top 10 of the International Educational Assessment, one might wonder.