The level at which Jamaican students aged 7 to 14 years are performing in numeracy and reading is worrying.

That’s according to the results of the 2022 Jamaica Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

The findings of the survey conducted by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s fund, and other entities were released, this morning.

The findings show that most children are completing primary school and grade 9.

However, challenges have been highlighted, as 38 % of children have not acquired foundational reading skills.

National MICS consultant Jacqueline Montague Small said the students were given a story to read and only some of them were able to complete the task correctly.

She said for numeracy, only 50 % of students, age 7 to 14 years, have acquired the foundational skills.