THE Isle of Wight was the worst performing local authority for 11-year-olds making progress in English and maths this year, according to government figures.
Only 81 per cent of pupils made the expected progress in English between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 — when they took SATS tests in core subjects such as reading and writing — and only 76 per cent made the expected progress in maths.
In both cases, the Isle of Wight came 150th out of 150 local authorities.
The figures prompted parent governor and children and young people scrutiny panel member David Miller, to raise the issue at tonight's (Wednesday) full council meeting, where he claimed the school’s reorganisation transition had failed many children.
Council leader Cllr David Pugh responded: "You are seeing the glass half empty and quoting selectively from the KS2 results.
"These are our best ever results for KS2. It is a remarkable achievement and our primary school teachers should be congratulated.
"You claim the re-organisation failed our children, but it was the old system that left them floundering."
Overall KS2 results did show some improvement.
The Isle of Wight was ranked 135th for the number of pupils achieving level 4 or above in both English and maths, according to the Department for Education figures, after coming bottom last year.
Seventy-five per cent of pupils achieved the benchmark, compared with the national average of 80 per cent.
Reporter: emilyp@iwcpmail.co.uk