year 1 phonics check

[SmileAndNod]

Does anyone know if this is done in the summer term, or is there no set time for it? Also what exactly is it they check? That they can decode a word rather than read? It was mentioned at the start of the year but nothing since!
Thank you

Even if someone collected the papers she wouldn't know how the marks came to be recorded on it. Perhaps an observer would make a difference. But the malpractice would have to be fairly blatant, I'd imagine for her to be able to do anything about it

what does this word say?
flom
Did you say grant? Well done, dear.

Wouldn't you have to do some sort of selected reassessment to know whether or not the marks were a fair reflection? Isn't the fuss being made about the spike, not how the spike actually got there.

She would if she had sat in on the check - which does happen

I'm not sure how strong safeguards a possible observer and withholding the passmark are.

After all, the teacher can obviously tell whether or not the observer is present. And, I presume the government would need rather a lot of observers to have them everywhere on test day.

The best method, I'd have thought, is to convince as many people as possible of the power of phonics and let the teachers get on with it. If a teacher is so minded to tell Little Sally that flom is pronounced grant, for the purposes of the test, there isn't much that the government can do about it.

If a teacher/school was found to be doing the kind of prompting you suggested then all results would be void

The government don't have to have any observers as the moderators are employed by the LEA, who arrive unannounced, so could in theory cover a number of schools in a single day ...
I'm not sure what people think is to be gained by cheating unless saving time and money to support those who don't reach the expected level. Personally if a child achieved 32/40 I would still be providing support regardless of the cut off.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/245813/SFR37-2013_Text.pdf

Check out the graph on page 3 of this document. I hope they are not using the results of this test to rate schools compared to a national average. The data is unreliable as a lot of teachers cheated. The DFE recognizes this.

The data isn't being used for anything other than identifying which children need support with phonics

We had an external moderator call in during our phonics check last year. Even despite this our pass rate increased a lot - partly due to better phonics teaching (we introduced a new scheme start of that year), partly because the pupil intake that year was different to the year before and partly because teachers knew more what they were going to be doing.

The DFE is releasing it after the test. Even MISsoftware suppliers aren't getting it.

xxwowxx - you've got me all wrong. it's a good test. But I think the data is unreliable and did think too difficult for kids that young, but many are persuading me otherwise.

Having had a child 'fail' the test last year and now in Y2 his teacher has said he has already reached end of Y2 targets that he does not need to resit the test, what difference has that Y1 test made to his ability, expectation and capability? None at all. He was getting extra support before the test and has had extra support in Y2 and it's paid off.

I did not think he would pass in Y1 and here we are a year later and he is above target, which just goes to PROVE that children work at different speeds and they cannot all pass 'through the eye of a needle' at the same time.

So for Y1 parents out there who are worried about 'The Test' don't be, please, please, please don't be, it proves nothing.

You and your teacher know where your child is and what they have to do to develop at their own speed and pace to be secure enough to make progress without having a test to prove it. Happiness and progress are the two watch words of primary education. Not race, speed or comparison.

I'm not sure it proves that children work at different speeds at all; if I was getting loads of help with my aeronautics I'd be coming along nicely as an astronaut.

Obviously I'm going to string a long load of ifs together here (we all know that reading is not only about decoding)

but if being bad at phonics means that children get appropriate help and if that includes all the other help they need and if that improves their ability to read significantly, then I think it's a great thing.

his teacher has said he has already reached end of Y2 targets that he does not need to resit the test

I suggest his teacher reads the ARA - children who failed the test in Y1 must be retested in Y2 and the results reported to the DfE and parents

now in Y2 his teacher has said he has already reached end of Y2 targets that he does not need to resit the test

Is the school allowed to do that? Perhaps mrz will be able to tell us.

You and your teacher know where your child is

Unfortunately that is not true of every teacher. A number will be perfectly happy with a child who guesses fluently (but not accurately) and can get the 'gist' of what they are reading. In another couple of years such a child may be completely flummoxed by unfamiliar words and more complex text if they haven't mastered letter/sound correspondences.

Cross posted mrz!

Having had a child 'fail' the test last year and now in Y2 his teacher has said he has already reached end of Y2 targets that he does not need to resit the test

Unfortunately it isn't the teacher's choice but a statutory requirement - he will have to redo the test in June and his score will be reported both to you and the LEA.

but if being bad at phonics means that children get appropriate help and if that includes all the other help they need and if that improves their ability to read significantly, then I think it's a great thing.

Blimey!!!

but if being bad at phonics means that children get appropriate help and if that includes all the other help they need and if that improves their ability to read significantly, then I think it's a great thing.
That's a brilliant way of looking at it CG.
And if this test was merely monitoring the progress of pupils, that's how teachers would look at it. But it's much more a check on teachers than their pupils. Parents should not worry about it in the slightest.

my friends said failed it with 19/40. School said not to worry but doesn't give many details of his current progress except that he is on Phase 4?

And if this test was merely monitoring the progress of pupils, that's how teachers would look at it. But it's much more a check on teachers than their pupils. Parents should not worry about it in the slightest.

But everything fits together - the children identified should then receive extra support. Ineffective teaching is identified and extra support should be provided. Same thing.

19/40 at the end of Y1 is very worrying proudmama. Your friends need to ask what is being done to address the huge gaps in their child's phonic knowledge pronto.

christinarossetti if you read the post you'll see that she did. The school told her he should have no problem passing it at the end of year 2, but when asked about his phonics progress said he was on phase 4. No more details than that.

If he's working on phase 4 in Y2 he is massively behind and hasn't covered the content he needs to pass the phonics check. Phase 4 is meant to be covered in reception.

Eh? "School says not to worry but doesn't give many details of his current progress"

Where in that is the school explaining to the parent what steps they are going to be taking to improve their child's phonic knowledge/understand why he is so behind?