Written question asked by Andrew Turner (Conservative) on Wednesday, 12 June 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 18 June 2002. It was answered by David Miliband (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 June 2002 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what empirical evidence she has collected on the relative success of teaching of reading by (a) whole language and real books method, (b) the national literacy strategy and (c) synthetic phonics. - Includes figures and ref to "Review of Research and other Related Evidence", 1998.

Answer: Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what empirical evidence she has collected on the relative success of teaching of reading by (a) whole language and real books method, (b) the national literacy strategy and (c) synthetic phonics. [62613] Mr. Miliband: A wide range of research evidence about the teaching of reading was considered in the development of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) as documented in the "Review of Research and other Related Evidence", published by the Department in 1998. National test results have shown that the NLS has improved the standards achieved in reading. In 2001, 84 per cent. of pupils achieved the expected level for their age (level 2) in the Key Stage 1 reading tests--a rise of 4 percentage points since 1998; 82 per cent. of pupils achieved the expected level (level 4) in the Key Stage 2 reading tests-- a rise of 11 percentage points since 1998. Phonics is a key part of the NLS, which advocates the use of both synthetic and analytic phonics.

Secondary information