LEARNING CRISIS | Filipino students still score low in science, math, reading, says study

December 6, 2023 , 12:28 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(December 6, 2023) – Filipino students are still among those lagging in mathematics, science, and reading, an international report showed, highlighting the need for serious educational reforms that many advocacy groups have been calling for over the past decade.

Among 81 countries that participated in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Philippines ranked third to the last in science after scoring an average of 356 and sixth to the last in mathematics and reading after tallying an average of 355 and 347, respectively.

The country’s performance was almost the same as in 2018. It can be recalled that the Philippines ranked lowest in reading and second to the last in mathematics and science during that year, the first time that the Philippines took part in PISA.

The average scores of the Philippines for that year were 353 in mathematics, 340 in reading, and 357 in science.

The Department of Education (DepEd), which is headed by Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, already anticipated the outcome of the assessment and is currently conducting a forum on the matter, as of this writing.

“Low spending per student needs to be taken into account when interpreting the poor performance of students in developing countries,” according to the 2022 PISA report.

It noted that the average spending of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is nine times greater than in the Philippines.

“This shows that education needs to be adequately resourced and is often under-resourced in developing countries,” added the report.

Duterte-Carpio encouraged the public to continue their support to the efforts of the DepEd, noting that the results of this assessment “provided us with valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our learning system.”

“The PISA results may bear uncomfortable truth,” admitted Duterte-Carpio. “The PISA results are not merely a reflection of our education system. It is a mirror reflecting our collective efforts, investments, and most importantly our commitment to education and the future we envision for our children.”

Reacting to the results, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said the poor performance of Filipino learners indicates that the programs of the DepEd may have been ineffective in addressing the learning crisis, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, a study by the World Bank showed that the learning poverty of the Philippines increased to 91%, which meant a large segment of Filipino children below 10 years old experienced difficulty reading a simple text.

Castro, also deputy minority leader, reiterated the importance of increasing the education budget relative to the country’s gross domestic product for “building more classrooms, hiring more teachers, and increasing their salaries.”

She added that the DepEd must implement a curriculum that fits better in the context of the Philippines and its students.

For Castro, it might be better to have another leader in the DepEd who can focus on addressing educational woes, taking a swipe yet again at Duterte-Carpio.

“Mahirap na parang may part-time na kalihim lang sa DepEd at mas inaatupag pa ang pagmamanman sa mga guro at estudyante at maging hadlang sa makatarungang kapayapaan,” said Castro.

(PM)

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