Scores of schoolchildren are falling behind in their three Rs - reading, writing and arithmetic - after just three years of school.
Key stage one figures published today show that more than 83,000 seven-year-olds have the reading age of a five-year old and almost 106,000 cannot write to the level expected of them.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said although many children made the grade in the three traditionally key subjects, there were still too many struggling and called the results "worrying".
"Success in later life is founded on an understanding of the 3Rs in the first few years of school. Problems must be identified at a young age and rectified before it is too late."
The statistics, released on Thursday by the Department for Education (DfE), show more than 58,000 children failed to make the grade for maths.
The results also show a "marked difference" between the poorest children and the rest.
- Only 73 per cent of pupils on free school meals (FSM) achieve the expected level in writing, compared with 81 per cent overall
- Only 56 per cent of white British boys eligible for FSM are at the expected level in writing
Overall, the basic attainment in all subjects has plateaued over the last five years. The proportion of children attaining above the expected level in reading and writing is the same as 2007 and down two percentage points in maths.
Gibb added: "Today's figures demonstrate the scale of the challenge and why tackling poor reading is such an urgent priority."
However in Tower Hamlets, the inner-city east London borough, more than 47 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals - a figure two-and-a-half times above the national average, yet 85 per cent of pupils achieve at least the expect level in reading.
Other top local authorities are:
- Windsor and Maidenhead (in all three areas)
- Rutland (in reading and writing)
- Isle of Wight (maths)