Pupils with special educational needs are also less likely to achieve the ‘expected standard’, with overall progress since the pandemic stagnating.
Pupils with special educational needs are also less likely to achieve the ‘expected standard’, with overall progress since the pandemic stagnating.
A decline has been noted in the proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieving the government’s “expected standard” in their year 1 phonics screening test this year, coinciding with a plateau in overall progress since the pandemic.
According to data released today, 67 percent of disadvantaged pupils sitting the test for the first time met the required standard, a slight drop from 68 percent the previous year.
In total, 80 percent of pupils passed the test in year 1, maintaining the same rate as reported last year.
The achievement rates have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Phonics tests are conducted in year 1, with those who do not pass required to retake the test in year 2.
This year’s statistics indicate that the comeback to pre-pandemic performance levels has stalled.
While achievement was recorded at 82 percent in 2018-19, it dropped to 75 percent in 2021-22. A gradual improvement to 79 percent in 2022-23 and 80 percent in 2023-24 has been observed.
Gaps Widen
The disparity between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils has grown.
For the combined total of years 1 and 2, disadvantaged pupils are now 17 percentage points behind their more affluent peers, a slight increase from last year’s 16 percentage point gap.
A slight decrease is also visible in the percentage of boys achieving the expected standard in year 1 (from 77 percent to 76 percent), remaining lower than the 84 percent rate of girls who met it.
Moreover, the gap between London—currently the highest performing region—and the north east and north west, the lowest regions, has widened by four percentage points.
This year, 82 percent of pupils from London met the expected standard, while the north east and north west reported 78 percent.
Pupils with special educational needs have also experienced a drop in achievement rates, from 44 percent last year to 43 percent this year.
Lastly, summer-born pupils continue to struggle more than their peers in meeting the government benchmark, with only 73 percent of those born in August achieving the standard compared to 86 percent for those born in September.
