Public school students floundering below reading level
More than half of students in the public school system scored below the international benchmark in a standardised reading test between 2020 and 2023.
As a result of a public access to information request, The Royal Gazette received academic results for the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, designed to assess students’ reading levels throughout their compulsory education journey.
Areas measured include students’ decoding, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
Usually taken twice a year, the assessments provide critical insight into literacy — widely considered the foundation of most other educational outcomes.
The Ministry of Education, which up until now had not released the results publicly, admitted that the level of performance was “unacceptable”, blaming them in part on the Covid-19 pandemic. It has said improving outcomes is “a clear priority”.
An education charity insisted the problems predate Covid while the Opposition has warned Bermuda is facing a “literacy crisis”.
The results did not give a breakdown of scores or identify schools, but indicated whether students were below their expected reading level, achieving it or performing above it.
Below level: 2 grades below reading level
On level: On grade
Above level: 2 grades above reading level
Post-high school: 5 grades or more above reading level
The information officer for the Department of Education said the records for the 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025 academic years were not available, likely owing to “staff changes”. The Royal Gazette has made further inquiries.
Those provided reveal a trend of students performing in the “below level” bracket, typically two grades below their reading level on an international benchmark.
The data also chart students achieving “on level” at their expected standard, “above level” at two grades above and “post-high school” at five or more grades higher.
An average from years P3 to S4, and in some cases P2 to S4, for 2020 through 2023, shows between 54 per cent and 58 per cent of students below level.
Figures show certain year groups much lower than average: 82 per cent of M1 students in May 2022 were below level, as were 80 per cent of M1 students in June 2021, 78 per cent of M1 students in 2020 and 78 per cent of M2 students in May 2022.
An average of 63.7 per cent of students leaving primary school were scoring below grade level over the four years.
The worst-performing year level was M1, with an average of 78.1 per cent of students falling below.
The most students above level were P4 in November 2021, at 34 per cent. There were only three other instances of year levels achieving 30 per cent or above in this bracket.
A tally of the averages across all four years showed 55.8 per cent of all students landing in the below-level bracket.
For on level, the average was 17.4 per cent and for above level, the average was 19 per cent.
An overall average of 7.4 per cent got post-high school level. Exceptional results were shown at this level by a handful of P3 students.
A ministry spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette: “The ministry acknowledges that the Gates-MacGinitie reading results for 2020 to 2023 fell below the standards we expect for our students, particularly at the M1 and M2 levels.
“We recognise our responsibility to address these gaps and ensure every student develops the reading skills needed to succeed across all areas of learning.
“While the disruption to in-person instruction during the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022 contributed to these outcomes, our focus is firmly on what must be done now to improve student performance. We are taking deliberate steps to strengthen literacy instruction, create greater consistency across schools and improve student outcomes.”
Since 2024, the Department of Education said it had advanced the following measures to strengthen literacy outcomes.
• Implementing targeted reading support: In September 2025, the Bermuda public school system introduced the Amira Learning online reading programme, now in its second year, to strengthen reading development and student progress.
• Establishing a consistent, evidence-based approach to literacy: We are reviewing the literacy programmes across the BPSS to develop a single, sustainable literacy framework. This will give teachers a consistent, evidence-based approach to reading instruction and help ensure students receive high-quality literacy teaching in every school.
• Strengthening accountability and transparency: The minister and the Commissioner of Education are committed to reporting more transparently on literacy performance and measures being taken to improve it. We recognise that progress must be demonstrated through student outcomes, and we expect to provide further information on performance and ongoing improvement initiatives.
The spokeswoman added: “Our objective is clear — to improve reading proficiency and ensure every student has the literacy skills needed to succeed. We acknowledge the results, are acting to address the gaps and are focused on building a stronger, more consistent approach to literacy across the public school system.
“Improving these outcomes requires sustained effort, clear accountability and a commitment to measuring progress. That is the work now under way.”
The details came after the Gazette reported through Pati in March that public school exam results in the Cambridge Checkpoint and IGCSEs fell below international averages in almost all areas in 2024-25.
The Government then requested a review by Cambridge International Education, the body that sets the exams. It showed a widening gap between high and low-performing students in primary and middle schools for 2023-2025, as well as a general academic decline for 2013-2022.
Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, said on the tabling of the CIE report that a number of interventions had been identified to help boost scores.
While the Government claimed Bermuda’s public school students had a solid reading foundation, Becky Ausenda, the founder and former executive director of the Bermuda Education Network, said it needed to be backed up by more data.
Ms Ausenda, whose charity works with primary students to improve literacy, called the Gates-MacGinitie results “extremely disheartening”.
She said: “There has been a chronic lack of attention from Government to the reading issues at primary level and their response is unacceptable.
“As far back as December 2020, the Government’s own parish primary schools consultation paper disclosed that 62 per cent of P6 students were reading below the expected level, according to Gates assessments conducted in November 2019. These difficulties therefore predate the disruption caused by Covid-19.
“In 2020, Minister Rabain announced measures to address reading failures with the introduction of Heggerty phonemic awareness, Achieve3000 and Gates-MacGinitie assessments as part of Plan 2022.
“He stated ‘a key outcome stipulated in Plan 2022 is that 75 per cent of our students will be proficient in reading by the time they reach Primary 3’.
“These assessment results prove that target was never achieved.”
Gates-MacGinitie tests assess students’ reading levels throughout their education, while the University of Florida Literacy Institute offers a structured literacy programme, adopted by public schools in 2024.
Ms Ausenda added: “The elephant in the room is whether classroom instruction needs to improve. According to the Science of Reading, there needs to be more consistent use of Heggerty for phonemic awareness and UFLI for phonics.
“Amira is an AI tool which children read to and the bot gives feedback. It is regarded by some teachers as a useful tool, but it is just one piece and does not replace the need for reading instruction expertise.
“Since 2020, two pilot programmes with well-respected overseas groups have been launched to strengthen reading instruction at primary level, but as is often the case, there has been insufficient support for implementation.”
Innovation Unit Australia/New Zealand, later named Third Story, was contracted to help redesign Bermuda’s public education system in 2020. Rolling contracts amounted to $8.4 million up until December 2025.
Ben Smith, the shadow education minister, said: “For the approximately $8.4 million spent on education consultants, Bermudians deserve to know what specific advice was given to improve literacy and what measurable improvements have resulted.
“The reported unavailability of the 2024 and 2025 results raises further questions about transparency and accountability.”
“How can parents know whether the system is improving if the Government cannot provide current reading results? We need to see the evidence, not simply hear promises of progress.
“Our teachers need support, and children who are struggling need immediate intervention. We cannot allow students to continue progressing through the system without the literacy skills they need.”
Opposition MP Ben Smith said the results should act as a “wake-up call” for an “urgent national response”.
He added: “The results raise serious questions about the decision to eliminate middle schools. How will removing middle schools address a problem that begins much earlier?
“Have we spent years blaming middle schools for students arriving at senior school unprepared, when the evidence suggests many were already falling behind in primary school?
“Eliminating middle schools does not eliminate the literacy problem. It risks simply shifting where the blame falls.”
The Bermuda Public Services Union said it had no comment “at this time”.
• To view the Cambridge results from 2018 to 2025, see Related Media
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