A flash memory system, including a flash memory device and a controller, and having improved efficiency error correction coding (ECC), is disclosed. Each page in the flash memory device has the capacity to store multiple sectors' worth of data. However, partial page programming (i.e., followed by a later write to fill the page) is prohibited for reliability reasons. A scratchpad block within the flash memory device is designed, and stores both user data and control data. ECC efficiency is improved by encoding the ECC, or parity, bits over the entire data block corresponding to the user and control data in the page. Retrieval of a particular sector of data requires reading and decoding of the entire page. Especially for codes such as Reed-Solomon and BCH codes, the larger data block including multiple sectors' data improves the error correction capability, and thus enables either fewer redundant memory cells in each page or improved error correction.