Editing Phonics (section)

===Sweden===

Since the 1860s it was "taken for granted" that phonics is a major part of reading instruction in the first school years in [[Sweden]]. However, in the 1990s the [[National Agency for Education (Sweden)]] encouraged teachers to try other methods, including [[whole language]].

Sweden's performance in the international fourth grade reading assessments ([[PIRLS]]) dropped by 19 points from 2001 (561) to 2011 (542) and recovered by 13 points in 2016 (555), still lower than the 2001 results.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/pirls/student-achievement/trends-in-reading-achievement/|title=PIRLS Trends}}</ref>

Some suggest that the lower scores are related to the increase in immigration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/immigrant-children-in-sweden-blamed-for-countrys-poor-test-scores-a6934111.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/immigrant-children-in-sweden-blamed-for-countrys-poor-test-scores-a6934111.html |archive-date=2022-05-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Immigrant children in Sweden blamed for country's poor test scores, Independent, 2016-03-16|website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=16 March 2016}}</ref>

In 2016 the European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eli-net.eu|title=European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET)}}</ref> published a report on literacy in Sweden saying there is an "urgent need" to address decreases in performance as measured by PIRLS and [[PISA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elinet.eu/fileadmin/ELINET/Redaktion/user_upload/Sweden_Long_Report.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.elinet.eu/fileadmin/ELINET/Redaktion/user_upload/Sweden_Long_Report.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=LITERACY IN SWEDEN, 2016}}</ref>