The short answer: 32 out of 40. But the number alone doesn't tell you how it's calculated, what happens near the border, or whether it actually matters long-term — so here's the full picture, not just the headline figure.
How the 40-word score is actually calculated
It's the simplest scoring system possible: each of the 40 words (real words and pseudo-words combined) is worth exactly one point if read correctly, zero if not. There's no partial credit for getting most of the sounds right, no penalty for guessing, and no deduction if a child self-corrects out loud before moving to the next word — the teacher records whatever the child's final, settled answer was.
What counts as "correct" for a pseudo-word?
Any plausible pronunciation that matches the spelling pattern is accepted — pseudo-words don't have one "correct" sound the way real words do, since they're invented. The teacher is trained to accept reasonable alternative pronunciations (for example, a vowel team that could plausibly go two ways). See our full pseudo-word practice list for examples sorted by pattern.
Does the pass mark change every year?
It can, in principle — the Department for Education reviews the threshold annually based on that year's national results, and confirms it each spring before the check runs in June. In practice, 32 out of 40 has been the figure for most recent years, so it's a safe number to plan around, but always treat your child's school as the source of truth for the exact current-year mark rather than any single article (including this one).
What a borderline score actually means
A score of 29, 30, or 31 out of 40 is described as not yet meeting the expected standard — deliberately neutral, not "failing." It usually means a handful of specific patterns (often a couple of vowel teams or a less common digraph) haven't fully clicked yet, not that reading overall is behind. Ask the teacher exactly which words were missed; it's normally a short, fixable list rather than a broad gap.
Where the score actually goes
You'll see it in your child's end-of-year school report, usually as "met the expected standard" or "working towards." Schools also submit anonymised results to the Department for Education for national tracking — but unlike SATs or GCSEs, it isn't a mark that transfers with your child's file or gets referenced again once they've met the standard on a resit. Once it's met, it's done.
| Score | What it means |
|---|---|
| 32–40 | Met the expected standard — no further action |
| 29–31 | Just below — targeted support, usually a small, specific gap |
| Below 29 | Below standard — broader phonics support planned for Year 2 |
| Any score in Year 2 resit | Final result recorded; no further resit after Year 2 |
If you want to check where your child stands before June
You don't need the official pseudo-word list to get a useful read at home — a normal decoding check works the same way. Our phonics assessment you can run at home walks through a 10-minute version, and the phoneme map lets your child practise any sound that still feels shaky, with audio for every one of the 43 sounds. For a full lead-up plan, see how to prepare for the check at home.