PH STUDENTS CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE LOWEST GRADES IN SCIENCE, MATH, AND READING — PISA

JONELYN A. BAJAR

August 22, 2022 – The academic year began in the Philippines on August 22, when millions of children returned to school, many of them for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only in its 2018 cycle did the Philippines become a member of PISA.

According to recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Filipino students are still among the least proficient in the world in math, reading, and science. The nation's performance in 2018 did not significantly improve as measured by the most current test results.

Less than 25% of Filipino students who took the exam in 2022 achieved the required level of competency in all three subjects—math, reading, and science—despite the education department's flurry of changes and preparations in response to a disastrous showing in PISA 2018.

The Philippines outperformed the world average in every category, according to the most recent PISA results, which are similar to those from 2018. The country's rating has increased, although only marginally, over those that fell because of the pandemic's effects on student learning.

The most recent findings also coincide with the delayed recovery of the Philippine education system from the pandemic, which included a protracted period of school closures that caused learning losses and a sharp rise in the percentage of pupils unable to read.

Recall that in a 2021 report on children' pandemic learning, the World Bank cited the 2018 PISA results, which infuriated former Education Secretary Leonor Briones, who said that the international organization had utilized "outdated data."

However, the Philippines' performance in PISA 2022 was not much different from that of 2018, with changes to the nation's average score in every category being minimal, only a few points. Additionally, the Philippines' results remain below the average of the OECD and

The Philippines only participated in PISA during its 2018 cycle, although it improved its score by two points in mathematics—the focal area of PISA 2022—going from 353 in 2018 to 355 in 2022.

The average science score for the Philippines fell from 356 to 355 by one point.

The Philippines saw the largest gain in reading in 2018, improving their score from 340 to 347, albeit only by seven points.

The Philippines is currently ranked sixth lowest out of 81 countries in reading and mathematics, and third lowest in science. This is better than how it was placed in the 2018 cycle, when Filipino kids came in second in math and science and lowest in reading comprehension.

In particular, the Philippines did better in mathematics than nations like Cambodia (which is the lowest in the world overall) and the Dominican Republic (which is ranked third). However, the Philippines was surpassed by nations like Palestine (which is ranked 13th lowest) and Indonesia (which is ranked 12th lowest).

The Assessment, Curriculum, and Technology Research Centre (ACTRC) deputy director, Pam Robertson, stated that PISA 2022 participants were the first pupils to finish all grade levels under the K–12 curriculum, which was first implemented in 2013.

-oOoThe author is Secondary School Teacher III at Francisco G. Nepomuceno Memorial High School