ABSTRACT
The word numeracy has only recently been used in relation to primary education. Until about the 1960s, primary schools taught arithmetic, a subject which was mainly concerned with training pupils to do the calculations that they might need, either to pass the 11 + selection examinations to go to grammar school, or to enter employment at 13 or 14. Calculations which were needed had changed little from the previous century, and included mainly mental and written arithmetic, and imperial weights and measures. These would enable shop assistants to measure out quantities, calculate totals and give change, clerical assistants to do simple accounting and book-keeping for a variety of small firms, and local builders and merchants to estimate quantities and costs. For commercial reasons, a premium was justifiably placed on neatness and accuracy.
