Journal of Educare

Foundational Literacy, Numeracy, Primary School Students, Correlational design, Students’ Proficiency.

Foundational literacy and numeracy skills are the essential for childhood education, contributing to academic achievement and social empowerment. This study examines the status of FLN among fourth grade students in government primary schools in the Cuttack district of Odisha, focusing on their proficiency levels, gender-based differences, and relationship between literacy skills and numeracy. Correlational research design was adopted involving 97 school students from six selected schools through cluster sampling. Self-developed tools assessed literacy skills, including reading comprehension, oral fluency, and writing as well as numeracy skills such as arithmetic operation, geometry, and measurements. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearsons corelation. The results indicate moderate proficiency in FLN, with notable gaps in advanced literacy (comprehension and expression) and numeracy (advanced reasoning). Girls outperformed boys in literacy while no significant gender differences were found in numeracy. A moderate positive corelation was identified between literacy and numeracy, highlighting their interdependence. The findings underscore the need for equity focused educational reforms, targeted teacher training, and innovative teaching practices to address disparities and improve foundational competencies.