Executive summary This dissertation aims to contribute to the knowledge on basic skills (literacy and numeracy) taking three distinct angles, each addressed in a separate part of the dissertation. The first part of this dissertation explores the importance of basic skills for life satisfaction. The second part, consisting of two chapters, concentrates on the development of basic skills throughout primary school. The third part investigates whether environmental factors affect student performance. The first part of this dissertation (Chapter 2) concludes that ten-yearsolds’ early basic skills are strongly related to adult life satisfaction. The chapter shows, using British data, that the relationship between early math skills and life satisfaction is significantly positive and stable between ages 29 and 46, whereas the relationship between early reading skills and life satisfaction diminishes in magnitude throughout this period. These findings highlight that early basic skills can serve as signals for potential difficulties in individuals’ later life outcomes, particularly regarding individuals’ satisfaction. The second part of this dissertation addresses the development of basic skills throughout primary education and consists of two chapters. Chapter 3 demonstrates that students’ skill proficiency in the early years of primary education is highly associated with their proficiency at the end of primary education. Furthermore, it shows that a significant part of the sixth-grade achievement gap regarding parental education finds its roots in the early years of (or before) primary edvii
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