Pupils’ reading best for 15 years – due to system trendy teachers mocked

‘Our approach is working’

READING standards in England are now the best in a generation following the introduction of compulsory phonics tests, a study suggests.

It comes after so- called ‘progressives,’ comprising Left-wing teachers, academics, unions and authors, criticised the back-tobasics reading method as ‘nonsense’.

A global ranking of 50 countries based on literacy among nine-yearolds places England in joint 8th, up from joint 10th in 2011.

Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said England’s performance in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) was a vindication of his ‘continued drive for phonics’.

The method involves teaching children the sounds that each individual letter makes, and to identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make, such as ‘sh’ or ‘oo’.

They are then told how to blend together the sounds from left to right, to form the whole word.

Children can use this knowledge to ‘de-code’ new words.

Many teachers favour a shortcut method, called ‘look and say’, which requires pupils to see the whole ers, who said it would hinder word as a unit and memorise it. pupils’ love of learning. But pupils taught this way may Yesterday, Mr Gibb said the find it harder to read complex and unfamiliar words. Pirls data proved his critics were

As part of a Tory drive to wrong and had been motivated toughen up the curriculum, a by ‘dogmatic romanticism’. compulsory ‘ phonics check’ for He said: ‘Those who stood in six-year- olds was launched in the way of evidence-based phonics 2012. At the time, it was bitterly reaching England’s classrooms opposed by Left-wing campaign- are responsible for stifling human potential and negatively affecting the life chances of countless children.

‘There was no evidence to support the “look and say” approach; it was simply in keeping with the philosophical opposition to formal instruction, which was so ubiquitous in teacher training colleges and education faculties.’ He added: ‘ We faced opposition from various lobby groups: Those opposed to testing; those professors of education who had built a career on teaching teachers to use the “look and say” approach; and the teaching unions.

‘Today, we received the first set of international evidence that confirms that our approach is working.’ Mr Gibb said the cohort taking the latest Pirls exams would have taken the phonics check aged six. He said the ‘look and say’ method originated in the 1920s but began to take hold from the 1950s onwards.

He claimed it has been especially embraced by Left-wing teachers, academics, local authority officials and unions – and has become part of an ‘anti-instruction’ and ‘learning by self-discovery’ ideology.

These campaigners were referred to as ‘The Blob’ by former education secretary Michael Gove because they consistently opposed Tory reforms.

The Pirls tests, which are conducted every five years, showed Russia scored the highest result, with an average score of 581.

Second was Singapore with an average score of 576, followed by Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland and Finland. Northern Ireland had 565, the same as Poland, while England had 559, the same as Norway.

In 2011, England’s score was 552. In 2001, the first year the study was undertaken, our score was 553.

It means this year’s score of 559 – from tests carried out last year – is the highest for England in the 15 years the tests have been in use.