At what grade are children taught how to do division? Figure 1 below plots the fraction of children in India, Kenya, Pakistan, and Uganda who can divide a larger number by a one-digit number, with possible remainders (e.g., 659/4), at various grade levels. From this graph, you cannot really tell when division is taught.

“Do kids in developing countries need less reading and math skills than OECD Kids?” This question did not appear on the agenda at a three-day workshop recently organized by USAID. It was not even articulated. But the entire event—rather opaquely titled: “Linking Assessments to a Global Standard with Social Moderation”—was predicated on the assumption that some new global standards were needed because the definitions of basic reading and math skills used by the OECD are too unattainable for many/most developing countries. If that sounds horribly retrograde and paternalistic, it is.

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) go beyond the commitment to just “completing primary school” of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and target learning outcomes.  SDG Target 4.6 is: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.