Yr 1 report - informed me she failed phonics test.....

[sugarhoops]

But she was given expected and exceeding for all report areas and her main report gave no mention of failing the test (the phonics test result was on a separate piece of paper, included in her report pack).

I have to confess, I was a little alarmed at the fail in the phonics test (29/40). I've been told by the teacher at last parents eve a month ago that DD is in the top group for phonics, one of the top readers in the class and is excellent at literacy. I was surprised to see she failed the phonics test, but then was given expected and exceeding for all her report areas, with no mention of needing further phonics support.

Can you just have an off day? My Ds passed the test a few years back and was definitely further behind with reading and phonics compared to dd at this same stage of yr 1. I'm confused, and not sure what to do to support her so that she passes in yr2 retake.

Above somebody sad the teacher can say every page, these words aren't real. If the fake words are mixed up, that would involve pointing out which words the word these was referring to.

If it's this unclear how the test actually works, is it not reasonable that a 6yo doesn't know how it works? We're adults.

Can I ask which reading scheme the school uses?

Oxford reading tree

But I think there is a mix of books, some out of the ORT scheme (if that makes sense)

There are four words per page and all the words on a page will be "alien" or all will be real. They aren't mixed and every "alien" word has a picture of an imaginary creature next to it to reinforce the message.

Thanks, that's exactly what I asked. There is confusion among the adults about how this test works.

The teacher can point and say at the beginning of each page "all the words on this page are "alien" words" or "all the words on this page are real"

I see what you're saying.... So she was told that the words aren't real, so she was meant to decode into nonsense words. But instead the teacher said she tended to decode into proper words, ignoring the fact that it was meant to be nonsense. I just don't think she grasped the whole 'nonsense' part of it.

When my son was in yr1, he came home with a phonics pack that included nonsense words (which I found really confusing to begin with, why teach a child nonsense words.,), but he got it and practiced loads.. My daughter didn't have the nonsense words in her pack, and there has been no emphasis on practising using them, so perhaps just less prepared this year?

I have to confess, I do find it confusing to ask a child to decode a string of letters into a nonsense word . Disclaimer: I was one of the 80's kids who didn't learn phonics.

"The following text provides an example of how you could introduce the check.

<span class="italic">In this activity, I am going to ask you to read some words aloud.</span>
<span class="italic">You may have seen some of the words before and others will be new to you.</span>
<span class="italic">You should try to read each word but don’t worry if you can’t. If it helps you, you may sound out the letters before trying to say the word.</span>
^This ‘practice sheet’ shows you what the words will look like.
Have a go at reading out loud these 4 words which you should have come across before [at, in, beg and sum].^
<strong>The words on this side [turn over ‘practice sheet’] are not real words. They are names for types of imaginary creatures. You can see a picture of the creature next to each word.</strong>
<span class="italic">Can you read out the words on this page for me [ot, vap, osk and ect]?</span>
<span class="italic">Ok, now we are going to start reading out the words in this booklet and I’m going to write down what you say on my sheet.</span>
<strong>In this booklet there are 4 words on each page. I will tell you at the start of each page whether they are real words that you may have seen before or names for types of imaginary creatures.</strong>

The first page has names for types of imaginary creatures and you can see their pictures.
Can you start reading the words to me?"

The check administrators guide is pretty clear ... any teacher administering the check should know exactly what to say and do

Thanks mrsz, that is useful to understand how the test works. Do you know why or how she (or any child) could reach ort stage 8 without being able to decode properly? We did read ALOT to her from baby age upwards, so is she genuinely guessing words to get to that stage? I know it's not rocket science reading age, but as I understand it, its pretty fine for her age....

No one is (should be) teaching children nonsense words but in life your child is going to meet lots of new vocabulary that will be unfamiliar (nonsense) to her at first and she needs to have the skills to read them accurately, not substitute them with a similar word she's familiar with - silver for sliver, spilt for split, from for form ... the check identifies those children who are at risk. It's the format used by Educational Psychologists ... becauses it's an effective and well established assessment.

Plus I've heard her decoding regularly, so I know she can do it

Failed!!! That word should be banned in infant schools. It's time schools were allowed to teach children rather than subjects via tick boxes.

it's very common for children who have been encouraged to predict what the word might be or taught to use initial letters and picture clues to do this which isnt a huge problem at first but can become one when they meet less predictable and more unfamiliar vocabulary.

OP, could you hazard a guess at why the school seemed a bit less prepared this year than when your son took the test, (apart from using different teaching materials, that is.) Was it the same teacher?

Yes same teacher Dora! I'm just perplexed that she can read fluently at stage 8, yet can't decode properly . i do prompt her whilst reading if she says a word incorrectly...and she then decodes correctly

Has there been any difference in the amount of time the teachers have had access to the materials and can practise with the children in the different years since the check was first introduced?

What reading books is she bringing home?

ORT can be quite formulaic in terms of the range of vocab and sentence structures that they use. It isn't unusual for some children to struggle moving from ORT to other things. IME this is more common with ORT than other schemes so I think it is possible that a child with a good sight vocabulary and some guessing strategies could get to stage 8. My niece was certainly capable of 6-7 before she could even blend a CVC word.

What happens if you write

vosk, lups, crumf, braggon, sweem, brentom, grenfo

on a piece of paper and ask her to read them to you? What happens if you get out a map, spread it on the living room floor and ask her to read some of the place names?

Why would you do that?

Do what, the nonsense words, the map or do any of it?

Nonsense words ... Try her with soothsayer, excavation, confectionary, straightforward, industrial, nautical etc any real words that aren't part of her normal vocabulary

She could have heard them before and be comfortable with them. Isn't at least part of the problem with the nonsense words that the child is freaked out by how strange they are. Place names on a map can have the same strangeness, because you're unlikely to have come across them in any context.

The screening check does have a weirdness which is hard to replicate.

Which is why I said any real words that aren't part of her normal vocabulary