Phonetics pupils slip when served with a saucer
THE number of children getting top marks in literary tests fell this year, according to ONS figures, because sixyear-olds were stumped by the word “saucers”.
The three per cent fall in the number of Year One pupils getting full marks in phonics assessments was partly attributed to the inclusion of the phonetically tricky noun.
The Department for Education (DFE) said that even children who did very well on this year’s assessments struggled to correctly spell “saucers”, which contributed to only 13 per cent getting full marks compared to 16 per cent last year.
One reason posited was that the ‘au’ diphthong (two vowels in succession) threw many pupils as its sound can be represented by a number other letter combinations such ‘or’ or ‘aw’. Other words that proved less challenging on the literacy test were “blast”, “groans”, “modern” and “charming”.
A DFE spokesman said: “Any change in the percentage of pupils achieving full marks is influenced by the difficulty of the test, as well as the ability of the cohort.”
Phonics tests were introduced
by the government in 2012 for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils as a way to improve literacy standards.
In the past, children were taught to read predominantly by repeating words in sentences. However, many educationalists now believe that this can lead to children learning the sound attached to a word without understanding the phonetic properties of the letters.
In the new phonics system, children are tested on a select group of words as well as “pseudo words” such as “meft”, “wup” and “scrid” to assess their ability to sound out letters.
The latest assessment results come as the overall number of Key Stage 1 pupils reaching the expected level in phonics tests rose for the fifth time in six years.
The latest results show that 82 per cent of Year One pupils reached the expected level in their phonics assessment compared to 81 per cent in 2017 and 58 per cent in 2012.
Nick Gibb, the school standards minister, said: “Our continued focus on raising standards means sixyear-olds are reading better than ever before – and we are setting an international benchmark.”