More than 1,300 primary schools are failing to reach official targets for teaching the basics of English and maths, according to figures published on Thursday.
League tables show that 1,310 primary schools in England fall below the expected standards, while about 150 schools have been below the "floor standard" for five years.
Doggedly under-performing primary schools face a change of management, either by converting them to academies or merging them with a successful school nearby.
The figures are based on the results of tests taken by more than half a million 11-year-olds in May. The percentage of children reaching the expected level in English and maths rose in this year's tests.
However, a third failed to achieve the expected standard – level four – in reading, writing and mathematics combined. One in 10 boys is leaving primary school with the reading age of a seven-year-old, the figures show.
Schools are expected to ensure that at least 60% of 11-year-olds reach the standard expected for their age in English and maths. This includes the use of proper spelling and grammar and the ability to carry out simple calculations.
A school is judged to be below the "floor standard" if it is also below average for the progress pupils make between the ages of five and 11.
The latest league tables are based on tests taken in more than 16,000 primary schools.
The schools minister, Nick Gibb, said: "Today's figures reveal on a school-by-school basis the high academic standards achieved by thousands of primary schools in this country.
"But 1,310 schools are today shown to be below the floor – and about 150 have been languishing with poor standards for five years in a row.
"It is these schools that we will pay particular attention to in the year ahead, whether through conversion to a sponsored academy or other measures."
The weakest 200 primaries in England will be placed under new management as academy schools next year. A further 500 poorly performing schools will come under pressure from the Department for Education.
Ministers argue that school failure must be tackled early as it can be too late to rescue children by the time they reach secondary school.
The children's minister, Sarah Teather, said the pupil premium – extra funding that is allocated to children from poorer homes – would help close the gap with children from wealthier backgrounds. From next year the pupil premium will rise to £600 and will be allocated to any child who has been on free school meals at any point in the last six years.
Teather said: "The chasm between the attainment of rich and poor must be closed – 58% of children on free school meals or in care achieved the expected level in English and maths by the end of primary school, but 78% of their peers do so."
Overall the proportion of children achieving the expected level in English is 82% – up two percentage points from last year. In maths it is 80%, up one percentage point on 2010.
The local authorities with the highest proportion of struggling primary schools are Derby (24%), Torbay (23%) and Plymouth (23%). In two London boroughs – Hammersmith and Fulham and Havering – none of the primaries are below the floor standard.
In December 2010, 962 schools were below the government's threshold. However, around a quarter of schools boycotted key stage two tests that year.
Newton Farm school in Harrow, where a majority of pupils do not speak English as their first language, gained the highest average points score in this year's tests. Ninety per cent of pupils who took the test gained level five – one level higher than expected of their age – in both English and maths.
Ofsted inspectors rated Newton Farm outstanding, praising the headteacher's "inspirational" leadership and the school's "happy and stimulating" ethos.
The headteacher, Rekha Bhakoo, said: "I believe children need to be able to read and write and be proficient in English in order for them to live in the world and function and pass exams.
"But the Sats are just one aspect of what happens at this school. I do believe our success is down to the rigour with which we look after our children.
"Their behaviour is exemplary – we don't have detention or anything like that at our school. The children know their rights and their responsibilities. They know they have a right to an education, but they also have a responsibility to engage with their education."
Three schools recorded 0% for the proportion of pupils gaining level 4 in both English and maths. One of these schools was Crays Hill primary in Essex, which is the school nearest to the Dale Farm travellers' site. Robert Bloomfield academy in Shefford, Bedfordshire, marks the tests internally while parents at the Steiner academy in Hereford decline to let their children take the tests.
Greenfield primary school in Bristol was the most improved: 95% of children achieved level four in English and Maths this year compared with 30% in 2008.
Stephen Luke, the headteacher for a year, said: "We are one of three schools in a large estate in the south of Bristol. People had quite a negative perception of not only the school but the area, and news like this is fantastic. I am delighted."
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