MATATAG CURRICULUM TO IMPROVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE

ROBILYN C. TOLENTINO

Officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) clarified that the MATATAG Curriculum was established not just to improve Filipino learners' performance in international assessments like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), but to improve their overall performance. The new curriculum primarily aims to decongest basic education competencies. DepEd said the revised curriculum is a product of a review of the current K-12 curriculum made by more than a thousand basic education experts from the government, private sector, and abroad. Although it was not triggered by PISA, there was really a need to review the MATATAG Curriculum, which helps improve performance in international assessments. MATATAG stands for “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education services and provision facilities; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment; and, Give support for teachers to teach better.” The Philippines ranked 77th out of 81 countries in the recent PISA 2022 with scores of 355 in Math, 347 in Reading, and 373 in Science. Insisting that the establishment of the MATATAG Curriculum is timely, DepEd pointed out that it is not about the number of competencies but selecting the important ones that learners need to master. If the teacher rushes to teach because there are a lot of competencies, children will not learn, officials said. So, their skills that should be developed will not be developed. So, when it comes to assessments, they will not be able to show that they can succeed in international and our national assessments. Officials also made it clear that the MATATAG Curriculum's learning outcome will not be realized anytime soon, as it still in phase implementation. If the MATATAG Curriculum begins this year for phase implementation, the first batch of will be on 2037 or 2038. During the 2022 PISA National Forum last year, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte assured the state of education in the Philippines is being addressed by the DepEd. Duterte said the result of the international assessment has actually provided them with valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the education system. She also rallied all education stakeholders to join DepEd in addressing the issues on learning among Filipino children.

-oOoThe author is a Teacher I at Dolores Elementary School