This report was originally published 24 February 2025.

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.

Key findings from the 2024 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

• The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check was undertaken in 1,618 NSW Government schools with 62,413 Year 1 students participating and completing the assessment.
• The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check consisted of 40 items.
• Students were considered to have met the expected achievement level if they correctly answered 28 or more items.
• 60% of students achieved at or above this level (up from 59% in 2023).
• The percentage of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students who met or exceeded the expected achievement score increased from 35% in 2023 to 36% in 2024.
• The proportion of students learning English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) who met or exceeded the expected score level ranged from 34% for students in the Beginning phase to 62% for the Emerging phase, 81% in the Developing phase and 85% at the Consolidating phase.

Caveats

Caution should be taken when comparing the 2022 results with the results of 2021. The 2021 assessment window was extended from 3 weeks (19 days) to 20 weeks (135 days) due to COVID-19, with students taking part between August and December of 2021. More than three-quarters of participating students (including more than 90% of students who lived in major cities) took part 12 weeks or more after the assessment window opened. The overall score in 2021 for students taking part may not be directly comparable to other calendar years and may be inflated.

In comparison, the assessment window for the 2022 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check was 4 weeks.