Reading levels fall for 11-year-olds: report

London: The gap is growing between the proportion of children with a sub-standard reading age and one that is ahead of their years, Sats figures revealed yesterday.

The proportion of children leaving primary school in England with a reading age appropriate to their age group has slipped, statistics released by the Department for Education show.

Scores from national tests sat by hundreds of thousands of 11-year-olds this summer, known as Sats, show 16 per cent of 11-year-olds did not reach level four the standard expected of them in reading, compared to 14 per cent last year.

It is the second year running that the proportion of children achieving level four in reading has dropped. The last time 16 per cent of 11-year-olds did not reach level four was 2007.

However, the proportion of 11-year-olds able to read to a higher standard than is expected of their age group level five has risen by four percentage points to 51 per cent.

In English tests overall, 81 per cent of children obtained level four a one percentage point rise on last year. In maths, 80 per cent did, compared to 79 per cent last year. This is a dramatic improvement on 1997, when just 63 per cent reached the expected level in English, and 62 per cent did so in maths.

For the first time in six years, the same proportion of girls as boys reached the standard expected of them in maths. Some 80 per cent of boys and girls reached level four in maths.