Numeracy skills interventions for adults (19+): a systematic review of the evidence

Over the last 20 years, numeracy skills have been a key focus of adult skills policy both globally and in the UK. This focus has been driven by the links that have been observed between levels of adult numeracy skills and life outcomes for individuals along with benefits for the employers of adult learners and for the economy. This research aims to inform the development of policy in this area as part of the UK government's Multiply programme. There is already help available for adults to improve maths and numeracy skills including fully funded maths courses up to [General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE to enable people to get the maths skills they need. Multiply aims to build on this by offering a range of free training options helping people to build their confidence with maths in their everyday and working lives.

The study reviews the evidence base for interventions intended to improve numeracy skills among adults with below Level 2 qualifications in mathematics. The evidence review included a total of 209 studies and looked at: (1) the lessons that can be learnt from adult skills policy in this area over the past 20 years; (2) what is known about adults (19+) in the UK who have limited numeracy skills (below Level 2); and (3) the approaches that seem to be the most and least successful in supporting different groups of adults to improve their numeracy skills, up to and including Level 2. A key finding of this review is that adult learners are an exceptionally diverse group with diverse needs, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, the findings of this report can help guide the design of future initiatives by highlighting interventions that appear to have been successful in the past and exploring the factors behind their success.

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