All 13-year-olds in England will sit a compulsory reading test under new government plans to stop teenagers falling behind in their literacy.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to introduce the exam at the end of year 8, after pupils have completed two years at secondary school.
Despite backlash from teaching unions who have described the proposals as “unnecessary and distracting”, she defended the importance of monitoring reading progress in schools while speaking on day one of the Labour Party conference.
Ms Phillipson stressed that teenagers who lack a good level of literacy are “restricted” in whether they can “benefit from the whole school curriculum”.
Recent Department for Education data found that 38 per cent of children leaving primary school in 2025 did not meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined.
Experts have become concerned that the transition period from primary school into secondary school has been neglected, leaving many students on a trajectory towards eventually underperforming in their GCSEs.
Teachers have also reported low reading engagement levels, as earlier this year research by the National Literacy Trust revealed that pupil’s enjoyment of the hobby has fallen to its lowest level for two decades.
Ms Phillipson said: “We know that often between year 7 and year 9, we see a big challenge around drop off, in terms of children’s enjoyment at school, their ability to learn but also challenges around attendance.
Teachers have reported low reading engagement levels
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“Too many children at the moment are leaving school without a level of English and maths, and it holds them back for the rest of their lives.”
There is currently no compulsory progress test between Sats (standard attainment tests), taken at the end of year 6, and GCSEs taken at the end of year 11.
Year 9 Sats were scrapped by Gordon Brown’s government in 2008 over increasing worry that they were putting too much stress on teenagers.
The results of this new test will be shared with the Government and Ofsted, but not published in league tables, as first reported in Schools Week.
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The exam will be sat at the end of year 8
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Sarah Hunnafin, head of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT described the plans as “unnecessary, distracting and not a good use of money when funding is tight for schools”.
She urged the Government to wait until all the recommendations from a curriculum review have been published before making changes to exams.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the National Education Union Daniel Kebede said that schools “categorically do not need another national test to identify which students need more support or intervention”.
“There’s nothing to stop future governments publishing them school-by-school, allowing Ofsted to use them or encouraging leaders to focus on them, all of which would lead to the same consequences we see wherever national test data exists – punitive labelling of schools, narrowing curriculum and increased stress and workload for staff and students.”
The proposals are expected to be set out in the Department for Education’s forthcoming White Paper.
A spokesman for the department said: “Reading holds the key to the rest of the curriculum, with pupils who struggle to read so often struggling across the board – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Our forthcoming White Paper will set out an ambitious vision to make sure every young person, wherever they grow up, has the opportunity to succeed.”
