This report was originally published 16 December 2023.

Summary

What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a 5 to 7 minute assessment administered by classroom teachers that indicates how their students are progressing in phonics. The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is designed to be administered towards the end of Year 1, after students have had time to develop sufficient phonic knowledge, but with enough time to make sure interventions and targeted teaching can still make a difference.

The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check complements existing school practices used to identify students’ progress in developing foundational literacy skills.

It is designed to provide schools with rapid insights that can be used diagnostically by schools to inform teaching and learning practice.

The screening check was trialled in 2020 and has been mandatory since 2021 for all Year 1 public schools.

In 2023, it was completed by 64,719 students with results immediately available for teachers.

This document provides a summary of information and data from the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check.

Key findings from the 2023 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

• The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check was undertaken in 1,640 NSW government schools with 64,719 Year 1 students participating and completing the assessment.
• The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check consisted of 40 items. The average number of items correct was 27.
• Students were considered to have met the expected achievement level if they correctly answered 28 or more items.
• 59% of students achieved at or above this level (up from 55% in 2022).
• The percentage of Aboriginal students that met or exceeded the expected achievement score increased from 30% in 2022 to 35% in 2023.
• The proportion of students learning English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) who met or exceeded the expected score level ranged from 33% for students at the Beginning phase to 60% for the Emerging phase, 79% at the Developing phase and 85% at the Consolidating phase.