Phonics Checks 2025 results Publications
Publication Details
This report presents a view of Phonics Checks achievement in Terms 1 to 4, 2025, based on 20,096 results that schools were encouraged to upload through the Ministry’s Secure Data Portal (SDP).
Author(s): Ministry of Education
Date Published: May 2026
Key findings
- The 2025 dataset comprises of 20,096 Phonics Check results from 16,896 students in their first year of school.
- Overall, 53% of students were at or above expectations at the 20-weeks check (6 months), and 39% of students were at or above expectations at the 40-weeks check (12 months).
- Between Term 1 and Term 4, 2025, there was a significant increase in the proportion of students meeting curriculum expectations at the 20-weeks and 40-weeks checkpoints.
| Checkpoint | Students at or above expectation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Annual total | |
| 20-weeks | 36% | 51% | 58% | 53% | 53% |
| 40-weeks | 26% | 29% | 35% | 47% | 39% |
- Demographic analyses show a positive trend in achievement over the year is also evident across ethnicities and EQI groups, but equity gaps are present for Māori and Pacific students and those attending schools in areas with more socio-economic barriers.
| EQI Group | Checkpoint | Students at or above expectation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Annual total | ||
| More Barriers | 20-weeks | 19% | 33% | 35% | 40% | 33% |
| 40-weeks | 16% | 9% | 19% | 25% | 20% | |
| Moderate Barriers | 20-weeks | 35% | 49% | 56% | 47% | 50% |
| 40-weeks | 24% | 28% | 32% | 45% | 37% | |
| Fewer Barriers | 20-weeks | 43% | 59% | 67% | 61% | 61% |
| 40-weeks | 32% | 36% | 41% | 54% | 46% | |
| Ethnicity | Timepoint | Students at or above expectation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 | Annual total | ||
| Māori | 20-weeks | 26% | 40% | 43% | 40% | 39% |
| 40-weeks | 18% | 21% | 27% | 35% | 28% | |
| Pacific | 20-weeks | 27% | 38% | 44% | 42% | 41% |
| 40-weeks | 17% | 17% | 23% | 32% | 26% | |
| NZ European | 20-weeks | 41% | 59% | 67% | 58% | 60% |
| 40-weeks | 28% | 30% | 37% | 52% | 42% | |
| Asian | 20-weeks | 44% | 55% | 63% | 58% | 58% |
| 40-weeks | 37% | 37% | 45% | 54% | 47% | |
| Other | 20-weeks | 31% | 59% | 59% | 59% | 55% |
| 40-weeks | 27% | 34% | 29% | 52% | 40% | |
About the assessment
The Ministry of Education introduced Phonics Checks and Hihira Weteoro in 2025 as curriculum-aligned checks to support consistent early identification of students needing extra support in their first year of school and kura. The checks also support our national understanding of student progress and achievement – their learning strengths and challenges – so we can better resource schools and teachers.
Phonics Checks and Hihira Weteoro are carried out at 20-weeks (6 months) and 40-weeks (12 months) after students first start school, with an additional suite of aromatawai tasks for Hihira Weteoro at 55-weeks.
While this initiative covers both English-medium and Māori medium settings, this report focusses on the achievement of students completing the Phonics Checks. The number of Hihira Weteoro results voluntarily uploaded in 2025 was insufficient to provide representative picture of mokopuna achievement across the range of settings for Māori medium and kaupapa Māori education, so these results are not included in this report.
For Phonics Checks, teachers administer the assessments individually, asking students to read up to 40 words, including both real and pseudo (made up) words. This approach ensures students are using decoding skills rather than relying on memory of familiar words.
The same assessment is used at both 20-weeks and 40-weeks, with different expectations for each. Students expected to read at least nine words correctly at 20-weeks, and at least 24 words correctly at 40-weeks to meet curriculum expectations for phonics knowledge and decoding.
The 2025 dataset comprises of 20,096 Phonics Check results from 16,896 students, representing 28% of the Year One cohort.
The sample is broadly representative of national EQI groupings, student ethnicities, and gender, so the findings are considered generalisable for identifying national phonics achievement patterns.
Navigation
Contact us
Education data requests
If you have any questions about education data please email us at Requests Data and Insights