Pupils worse at maths and English than grandparents and behind 'almost every other nation' Today, the findings led to claims that policies followed by the last Labour government had led to a decline in England's global standing, with a drop in achievement levels being disguised by years of "grade inflation." Northern Ireland also performed poorly on the international stage, the study found, although young people marginally outperformed the older generation. The OECD data suggests that the UK has effectively gone backwards while other countries have surged ahead in terms of the basic skills needed in the workplace. Andreas Schleicher, deputy director for education and skills at the OECD, said the finding "doesn't look good for the UK." "Young people in the UK lag considerably behind their peers in other countries when it comes to those foundation skills," he said. He added: "You do have to conclude that young people are not any better skilled... than people in the older generation." The OECD carried out tests of literacy, numeracy and computer-based problem solving with adults in 24 countries. Researchers sampled around 5,000 people aged between 16 and 65 in each nation. According to figures, English adults were ranked 11th overall for literacy and 17th for numeracy. In almost every country in the developed world, younger adults performed better than older people, with the biggest gaps seen in Korea, Finland and Spain. The data suggests these nations have dramatically improved levels of basic skills over the last few decades. However, the report said: "In England and Northern Ireland, the differences in proficiency between younger and older generations are negligible. Although young people in these countries are entering a much more demanding labour market, they are not much better equipped with literacy and numeracy skills than those who are retiring. The study added: "In fact, England is the only country where the oldest age group has higher proficiency in both literacy and numeracy than the youngest." Looking at 55- to 65-year-olds alone, England was ranked 3rd out of 24 in the developed world behind only Japan and Slovakia. It was ranked 11th for numeracy. But among the youngest generation aged 16-to-24, England was 22nd for literacy and 21st for numeracy. According to the OECD study, there was also a closer association in England between adults" skill levels and their chances of being employed, earning a good wage and staying healthy than in most other developed countries. It suggests England's position internationally is being dragged down by a long tail of underachievement. Matthew Hancock, the Skills Minister, said: "This shocking report shows England has some of the least literate and numerate young adults in the developed world. These are Labour's children, educated under a Labour government and force-fed a diet of dumbing down and low expectations. For years, Labour and the unions were told that their approach was damaging children's life chances, yet these warnings were ignored. We are fixing the problem with a more rigorous curriculum, better teaching, higher standards and tougher discipline. True to form, every single one of these reforms is opposed by Labour and their union bosses. They can never be trusted with children's education again. Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, which represents lecturers, said: "It is deeply worrying that our young people are no better skilled than their parents" generation. If we are to stay competitive in the global labour market we need a strong supply of highly-skilled workers. The Government needs to take bold measures to turn around our country's skills and give us a chance of competing with the likes of Korea, Finland and Germany who have shown an ability to create high levels of skills in their populations. The poor performance of the UK in terms of skills is linked to lower investment in post-16 education including in colleges and universities, as well as a culture which makes lifelong learning difficult and expensive for those who need it most.