THE standards of English among teenagers at secondary schools in the UK have fallen, according to test results for 600,000 pupils published recently.
Only 72 per cent reached the required standard for the subject in national curriculum tests this year. That's compared with 74 per cent the previous year.
The drop was similar in English reading, where just 66 per cent met the standards, the UK's Department for Education and Skills study showed.
The test results showed that boys fared worse than girls in the three Rs 棗 reading, writing and arithmetic. In reading, just 59 per cent of 14-year-old boys reached the standards expected of their age group. That was compared with 74 per cent of girls. In writing, 83 per cent of girls reached the standards, while only 69 per cent of boys matched them.
Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, admitted "concern" over the English results. "We cannot afford to be complacent and need to redouble our efforts to reverse this next year," he said. "That's why we've taken strong steps to ensure standards rise, including almost ￡1 billion extra for personalized learning to stretch the brightest and help the less able. We're making phonics the prime approach to boost reading at primary school, and improving the Key Stage 3 curriculum (for 11 to 14-year-olds)."
Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the UK's National Union of Teachers, warned that teenagers were just reading "less and less". He pinned the blame on "the impact of peer pressure, technological innovation and just being a teenager in an ever-changing world."
Sarah Teather, education spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrat party, said, "This is simply unacceptable. That so many boys reach their teens with such poor language skills is utterly depressing. It barely needs saying that without a command of English they will struggle to advance in either further education or work."
The reading figures showed that the government badly needed to provide the necessary training and funding for phonics teaching. This term it has had to change reading tuition methods for the youngest pupils, mainly by introducing synthetic phonics. A review of the 11 to 14-year-olds curriculum is promised for the new year.
