A simple five-minute process could detect at an early stage all those of Australia’s school children who are at serious risk of struggling with reading skills — and how to help them.
In order to read proficiently, students need accurate and fluent word identification skills and adequate language comprehension. Put simply, they must be able to work out what the words on the page or screen are, and know what they mean.
The most effective way to develop accurate and fluent word identification is to learn the code of written English through being taught phonics ― the relationships between sounds in speech and the letter patterns in written words ― in an explicit and systematic way. This is one of the best-established findings in educational research.
Unfortunately, literacy policies and programs in use in Australian schools do not consistently incorporate evidence-based, effective phonics instruction. Numerous studies have shown many teachers do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach in this way, and there is low confidence among principals in the ability of graduate teachers to teach reading. Documents produced by peak professional organisations such as the Australian Literacy Educators Association and the Primary English Teachers Association Australia show they do not support explicit, systematic phonics instruction.
It is difficult to precisely explain the resistance to such a well-proven method. However, it seems to stem from a combination of ideological attachment to social theories of literacy, a rejection of the primacy of scientific evidence on how children learn, and vested interests in entrenched reading programs.
Whatever the reason, the result is that among English speaking countries, Australia has one of the largest proportions of children who do not achieve minimum standards in literacy by Year 4.
The only way to accurately determine whether children are learning the fundamental phonics skills they need for early acquisition of reading — before the achievement gaps become difficult to close — is to assess what they know at a critical early point in their schooling.
The Australian government proposed a phonics check for Year 1 students in its May 2016 budget. Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has since reiterated the government’s intention to introduce the Check in Australian schools.
There is a strong precedent for this policy. The UK government introduced a Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in all primary schools in England in 2012. The proportion of students reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in England has increased since its introduction ― from 58% in 2012 to 81% in 2016. The proportion of students failing to achieve the expected standard in Year 2 reading tests has fallen by one third over the same period ― from 15% to 10%. The literacy attainment gap associated with socioeconomic disadvantage has narrowed to the same degree.
The Phonics Screening Check is not an ‘exam’. It is not high stakes and is not onerous for students or schools. Several Australian schools are already voluntarily using the UK Phonics Screening Check to inform their teaching. The Check takes 5–7 minutes per student to administer by a teacher. In England, overall results are reported at a national level. Individual school results are not published but are taken into consideration in school inspection reports.
The check comprises 40 items, all of which are phonetically decodable words. The check has two sections, each of which has 20 items progressing from easier to harder. There are 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words. Pseudo words are included because pupils will not have encountered them before and therefore will not be able to read them as remembered ‘sight’ words.
The UK Year 1 Phonics Screening Check could easily be adopted for use in Australian schools with some simple adaptations and improvements that would increase its positive impact without increasing its cost.
A Year 1 Phonics Screening Check would be an effective and cost-effective measure, which would demonstrate how well phonics is being taught across the country and in individual schools, and supply the impetus to drive improvements in teaching.
At the student level, it would provide early identification of students who are struggling with this essential foundational reading skill and need intervention or further specialist assessment.
Jennifer Buckingham is a senior research fellow and director of the FIVE from FIVE reading project at The Centre for Independent Studies.
Home > Commentary > Opinion > Why Australia must adopt the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
Why Australia must adopt the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
A simple five-minute process could detect at an early stage all those of Australia’s school children who are at serious risk of struggling with reading skills — and how to help them.
In order to read proficiently, students need accurate and fluent word identification skills and adequate language comprehension. Put simply, they must be able to work out what the words on the page or screen are, and know what they mean.
The most effective way to develop accurate and fluent word identification is to learn the code of written English through being taught phonics ― the relationships between sounds in speech and the letter patterns in written words ― in an explicit and systematic way. This is one of the best-established findings in educational research.
Unfortunately, literacy policies and programs in use in Australian schools do not consistently incorporate evidence-based, effective phonics instruction. Numerous studies have shown many teachers do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach in this way, and there is low confidence among principals in the ability of graduate teachers to teach reading. Documents produced by peak professional organisations such as the Australian Literacy Educators Association and the Primary English Teachers Association Australia show they do not support explicit, systematic phonics instruction.
It is difficult to precisely explain the resistance to such a well-proven method. However, it seems to stem from a combination of ideological attachment to social theories of literacy, a rejection of the primacy of scientific evidence on how children learn, and vested interests in entrenched reading programs.
Whatever the reason, the result is that among English speaking countries, Australia has one of the largest proportions of children who do not achieve minimum standards in literacy by Year 4.
The only way to accurately determine whether children are learning the fundamental phonics skills they need for early acquisition of reading — before the achievement gaps become difficult to close — is to assess what they know at a critical early point in their schooling.
The Australian government proposed a phonics check for Year 1 students in its May 2016 budget. Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has since reiterated the government’s intention to introduce the Check in Australian schools.
There is a strong precedent for this policy. The UK government introduced a Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in all primary schools in England in 2012. The proportion of students reaching the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in England has increased since its introduction ― from 58% in 2012 to 81% in 2016. The proportion of students failing to achieve the expected standard in Year 2 reading tests has fallen by one third over the same period ― from 15% to 10%. The literacy attainment gap associated with socioeconomic disadvantage has narrowed to the same degree.
The Phonics Screening Check is not an ‘exam’. It is not high stakes and is not onerous for students or schools. Several Australian schools are already voluntarily using the UK Phonics Screening Check to inform their teaching. The Check takes 5–7 minutes per student to administer by a teacher. In England, overall results are reported at a national level. Individual school results are not published but are taken into consideration in school inspection reports.
The check comprises 40 items, all of which are phonetically decodable words. The check has two sections, each of which has 20 items progressing from easier to harder. There are 20 real words and 20 pseudo-words. Pseudo words are included because pupils will not have encountered them before and therefore will not be able to read them as remembered ‘sight’ words.
The UK Year 1 Phonics Screening Check could easily be adopted for use in Australian schools with some simple adaptations and improvements that would increase its positive impact without increasing its cost.
A Year 1 Phonics Screening Check would be an effective and cost-effective measure, which would demonstrate how well phonics is being taught across the country and in individual schools, and supply the impetus to drive improvements in teaching.
At the student level, it would provide early identification of students who are struggling with this essential foundational reading skill and need intervention or further specialist assessment.
Jennifer Buckingham is a senior research fellow and director of the FIVE from FIVE reading project at The Centre for Independent Studies.
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