Literacy news
Reading test at age 6 to roll out next summer
16 Sep 2011
Following trials this year, five and six-year-olds in England will be tested on how they read using phonics, where children learn the sound of letters and groups of letters.
The Government says nearly half of the teachers who took part in the trial said it had helped them identify children with reading problems.
A total of 300 schools took part in trials this summer. Headteacher Shahed Ahmed described what happened.
He said children came out of their class one by one to look at a booklet of 20 simple words and 20 "pseudo" (made-up) words with their teacher.
There were four to six words on each page and it took about five to seven minutes per child.
It's a quick check of children's phonic knowledge, not a reading test. We want to know that they can read the sounds of letters and blend them together.
The check is being introduced as part of the Government's drive to get all primary schools to teach children to read quickly using phonics systematically.
All schools in England probably use phonics to teach children to read but ministers say that to be effective the system must be used systematically, rigorously and early.
The results will be reported to parents and made available to Ofsted, the Government and other schools.
One in five pupils does not reach the level of English expected of them when they leave primary school.
