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Maths exam standards have declined significantly since GCSEs were introduced, says a report by the think tank Reform.

Analysis of exam papers from 1951-2006 – a period of more than a decade, but less than a century, probably – shows the tests becoming shallower and less demanding after 1990. Pupils leave school ill-prepared for the workplace, says the report, adding that a generation of mathematicians has been lost to the nation’s economy.

According to Elizabeth Truss, a deputy director of Reform, “In today’s Britain it is acceptable to say that you can’t do maths, whereas people would be ashamed to admit they couldn’t read. What? Oh. OK, scratch that last bit.”

Schools Minister Jim Knight, however, responded by saying that an independent watchdog monitored exam standards closely. “We’ve trained this dog to bark if it detects any falling standards, and every year when we’ve shown it the papers it’s just yawned and weed on the carpet,” he said. “So that’s all right then.”

Shadow Children’s Secretary Michael Gove underlined the need for mathematics as a driver of economic growth, saying: “India and China are producing four million graduates every year. The single largest area of graduate growth is mathematics, science and engineering. Sorry, that’s three areas, isn’t it?”

Lib Dem education spokesman David Laws called the report “a damning critique of maths education in this country. Still, if people could do the maths they’d figure out that our chances of ever getting elected are nil. So it’s not all bad.”

Meanwhile, Mr Knight pointed to a 350% growth in news statistics in recent years –an increase of at least 50 numbers in real terms, allowing for seasonal adjustment and other factors - saying that there was a 5-4 chance that, of 9 out of 10 people, over one in three was on average three times more fluent than ever before in understanding numerical datas. He was docked marks, however, for failing to show his workings in the margin.