Third of six year-olds 'struggling to read basic words' Ministers insisted that standards had shown dramatic improvements in the last 12 months following a major campaign to promote the use of phonics in the classroom. The overall pass rate was up by 11 percentage points this year, it emerged. But the test has proved hugely controversial, with union leaders opposing the exclusive use of phonics as the only method of teaching children to read. It is also claimed that the test will brand children as "failures" at an early stage, with the National Union of Teachers threatening to boycott it altogether. But Elizabeth Truss, the Education Minister, said: "We are committed to improving children's reading. The phonics check helps teachers identify those pupils who need extra help in learning to read. Many thousands of children will now receive the extra support they need to catch up with their peers and develop a love of reading. Just over 600,000 children in England took the phonics check this year. It involves decoding 40 words, including made up terms such as "voo," "spron" and "terg," to ensure children can properly apply phonics. The latest results show that 69 per cent of six-year-olds achieved at least 32 out of 40 - the standard expected for the age group. This is up 11 percentage points on last year. Figures also showed: Around one-in-seven pupils - 86,000 - were unable to read at least half of the words in this year's test, while 30,000 pupils scored 25 per cent or less; Girls performed much better than boys, with 73 per cent passing the test, compared with just 65 per cent of boys; Only 48 per cent of poor white British boys achieved the pass mark - the lowest performing group after Gypsy and Roma pupils - with poor boys from black Caribbean, black African, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi families all performing better. The Government also published figures relating to standards achieved by children at the age of seven - the end of Key Stage 1. It emerged that 89 per cent of pupils were performing well in reading, 85 per cent in writing, 89 per cent in speaking and listening, 91 per cent in maths and 90 per cent in science. Reading and writing scores were up by two percentage points, while other disciplines increased by one percentage point. The disclosure is made in teachers" assessments of pupils" ability in the classroom at the end of the second full year of compulsory education.