National figures show that 76% of students achieved their expected ‘Level 4’ pass in their reading, writing and mathematics in their Sats Tests in England, 2013. A slight improvement from the 75% achieved from the previous year.

The Department of Education’s figures also showed an increase in mathematics results as students achieving ‘Level 4’ grades increased by one  percentage while ‘Level 5’ grades increased by two.

Despite this increase, 129,000 students remain inadequate at the three core subjects when leaving school. Figures also showed a decline in those students awarded the top grade ‘Level 5’ in reading which was down by 3%.

The government also published the figures achieved in the new test on spelling, grammar and punctuation introduced this year. Education Minister Elizabeth Truss explained: “The new test encourages schools to focus on the basics.”

These results caused great concern as the failure of one in four children to be able to master the three-Rs became apparent. The results showed that 26% of children (139,000) failed to achieve these “basics” and therefore will be falling short in a world surrounded by written communication.

Furthermore, the gender gap within the education system seems all the more prominent as 79% of girls achieved the expected ‘Level 4’ grade, whilst only 69% of boys did the same.

Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg raged at Cameron’s decision to “slash support for Labour’s ‘Every Child A Reader’ programme in 2010.” In the wake of these results, he is accusing the Conservative government of “undermining a decade of progress” in literacy skills and claiming that Cameron and Gove are “threatening school standards.”

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